The Eon Pack
by Aliecole
Summary: The Eon Pack is a close-knit group of Eeveelutions. All has been well and peaceful within the pack, but a great wave of changes is coming that threatens to wipe out everything in its wake. Each of them must learn to change and adapt, or risk being crushed. Together, they must fight for their right to survive while challenging their destiny.
1. Chapter 1

**The Characters**

Pokemon:Umbreon

Name:Kuro

Gender:Male

Mate:Akira

Pokemon:Espeon

Name:Akira

Gender:Female

Mate:Kuro

Pokemon:Jolteon

Name: Soaren

Gender:Male

Pokemon:Vaporeon

Name:Giro

Gender:Male

Pokemon:Flareon

Name:Dakoto

Gender:Male

Mate:Haretta

Pokemon:Eevee

Name:Bracken

Gender:Male

Pokemon:Jade

Name:Leafeon

Gender:Female

Pokemon:Glaceon

Name:Haretta

Gender:Female

Mate:Dakoto

Pokemon:Sylveon

Name:Sierra

Gender:Female

Kuro's View

Kuro looked around the tree surrounded hollow. The large cave at the end of the hollow was were he and his pack called home. A warm feeling of pride and achievement flooded over him as he looked at it. He had led his pack through many battles to keep this territory.

Our rivals' strength may lie in numbers, but ours lie in the bond that each of us share. They underestimated our strength and courage, because they were many and we were few. But for now all the fighting is over, and the Eon Pack can finally live in peace.

The Umbreon glanced over to the right at the Lookout Rocks. These rocks towered as tall as the top of the cave ceiling. The tops of these rocks were barely visible through the thick foliage of the trees. There, a pack mate could keep watch from above and alert if an intruder tried to trespass without being spotted by the intruder.

Kuro stared long enough, and was able to make out the orange fur of Dakoto. The Umbreon smiled as he thought of the Flareon and his mate. Dakoto was calm, easy going, and it took a lot to rile him up; while Haretta was hot headed, quick to act, and sometimes had trouble controlling her temper. Total opposites, and yet somehow perfect for each other.

Suddenly a streak of yellow bolted out of the mouth of the cave with a brown blur trying to keep up. Kuro twitched his ear in amusement, it was Soaren and Bracken. The two pokemon would often race each other, if it could really be called racing. Soaren always kept his pace slower so that the smaller pokemon could keep up.

In truth, very few pokemon could possibly hope to keep up with Soaren. He could run nearly as fast as lightning could strike. The Jolteon was young, energetic, and spirited. He also was a brother figure to Bracken.

It was obvious that Bracken admired Soaren. He had looked up to him since the day he was found. " Poor Bracken," Kuro thought. He had been found at a very young age just inside the Eon Territory. The little pokemon had been to young to care for himself, so he had been taken in by the pack. A twinge of unease rippled through his fur whenever he thought of who Bracken's parents could be. No one had been able to figure out if Bracken's parents had abandoned him, or if something had happened to them...

But Bracken was not bothered very much by all this. He couldn't remember his parents, or even the day that he had been found. The Eon Pack was the only family that the Eevee had ever known. He had been well cared for, and held good promise of becoming a great pokemon one day.

Kuro nodded to the two pokemon as they raced past. The Umbreon then padded into the cave. Over to the left, he saw Jade sorting through various herbs and berries in a little room where she kept her medical supplies. Leafeon generally don't like to fight much, and Jade was no exception. She preferred to help heal pokemon instead of battling, but she fought well when pushed to it.

"Good morning, Jade," Kuro greeted her. The Leafeon jumped.

"Oh, Kuro! I didn't hear you come in. Sorry, I guess I was just too absorbed in my berry sorting," Jade replied. " By the way, have you seen Giro by any chance?"

"Giro? No, I haven't seen him this morning. Are you looking for him?" Kuro asked.

"Not exactly, I sent him out to find more Cheri berries. But you know how he is," the Leafeon sighed. "He's probably found something that's fascinating to him, and will stare at it for an hour or so."

"Don't worry. He won't forget your Cheri berries, he never does. Even if he does get a little...distracted," Kuro finished. Still, the Vaporeon made him feel nervous. Giro was very clever as well as curious. Kuro worried that Giro's curiosity might get the better of him one day, especially when it came to humans. While other pokemon fled from strange human things, Giro was enthralled and tried to figure out how they worked. Kuro didn't trust humans, and feared that they might trap Giro. But Giro was a smart pokemon, and the humans would have to be very intelligent to trap him.

"Distracted...that's one word for it," Jade muttered. "Honestly,sometimes I don't know what gets into him. Oh well, I don't have time to sit here and fret. There's too much that needs doing." Then she turned back and sorting through her berries.

Catching movement out of the courner of his eye, Kuro turned around to see Sierra carrying a mouthful of yellow flowers. The Sylveon took her flowers over to a patch of moss growing on the cave wall and began intertwining the flowers into it. After watching her, Kuro twitched his ear in amusement. Sierra loved beautiful things, and constantly tried to decorate the cave with various flowers, gems, or anything that she found to be beautiful. She herself was quite beautiful, and her kind personality was even prettier. Kuro guessed that her physical beauty, as well as what was on the inside, was what kept Soaren's eyes constantly straying over to her.

Kuro looked forward and saw an Espeon nibbling on a pecha berry. Sudden warm flooded through him as he looked at the pokemon that was his mate. Of all the pokemon in his pack, no other meant more to him than Akira. She was loyal, brave, and the most beautiful pokemon he had ever laid eyes on.

"Hello, my Sweet," he greeted her. Akira gazed up at him, her purple eyes shining.

"Well hello, my fearless leader. Care to join me for some breakfast?" the Espeon gestured to a pile of berries.

"Always," Kuro replied. He then selected a Rawst Berry for himself. Brushing up against Akira, he sat down beside her and began to eat his food.

A few minutes later, Dakoto strode up. " I hate to disturb you, Kuro. But a certain annoying, squawking, clumsy Honchkrow that we all know has entangled himself in a Ariados web and demands that you come see to him."

Kuro rolled his eyes and sighed. " Does he really think that I ask the Ariados to decorate our trees with their webs?"

"Apparently, and I figure we better hurry and get The Great Pancho out of it before he screams his injustice to the entire world,"mumbled Dakoto.

"Ok, let's go then" Kuro replied. "Sorry, but breakfast will have to be cut short for now," he told Akira apologetically.

"That's alright," Akira said with laughter sparkling in her eyes,"but be careful. You have to be delicate with Pancho The Great's feathers. It's very easy to damage the feathers of such an aristocratic bird as Pancho," the Espeon added.

"Yes, or he'll have my tail for it," agreed Kuro. And with that, the Umbreon followed Dakoto to free the Honchkrow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Soaren's** **View**

Soaren raced through the forest, the wind ruffling his fur. His legs longed to go faster, but he couldn't leave Bracken behind. He could already hear the little pokemon's heavy breathing. He slowed to let the Eevee catch his breath.

Eventually, the two pokemon made it to a fast flowing river. A long, ancient looking tree formed a bridge to cross it. "Careful," Soaren warned as he stepped onto the tree. The surface looked slippery and easy to fall of off.

"Right," Bracken said with determination. The brown pokemon jumped onto the tree, and looked Soaren in the eyes. "Ready when you are!"

Soaren nodded and slowly strode forward. The wood surface gradually became damper, and the Jolteon had to grip the bark more tightly. At one point he turned to see how Bracken was fairing. Suddenly, one of his front legs slipped out from underneath him. For a terrorizing second Soaren wobbled precariously on three legs. Then, he crashed onto the tree with a thud. Panic flared up inside of him as he started to slip. He frantically clung to the bark with his paws. Then, sighing with relief, he stopped sliding.

"Are you okay, Soaren?" Bracken gasped.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Soaren assured the Eevee. "Just a slip, that's all." The Jolteon rose to his feet and carefully watched were he tread.

After stepping off the tree, Soaren found himself densely surrounded in forestry. Bracken jumped off behind him, and the two pokemon pushed themselves through thick bushes and trees.

Soaren looked back at Bracken. "Hey, Bracken. Can I ask you something?"

"As long as it isn't a what-eeveelution-do-I-want-to-be-when-I-grow up question. I'm sick of always..." the Eevee trailed off. Soaren peered back at the little pokemon and watched his ears twitch.

"What's...that sound?" Bracken finally asked. Soaren pricked his ears to listen. He could only hear the wind rustling through the leaves and the chirping of bird, in the distance, a certain commotion could be heard.

"I don't know, but we can go check it out," Soaren replied. "But we have to be careful, it could be dangerous." The Eevee looked at him and nodded.

The two pokemon trekked over to the source of the sound. As they neared, Soaren was certain that it was the sound of a battle. The Jolteon and Eevee slowed their pace and crept softly forwards.

They were so close now, that Soaren could feel the ground shake. Cautiously, he pushed his head through a bush and gazed around. A wide high-grassed field stretched out in front of him. Two humans faced each other, a Tyranitar in front of a black haired teenage boy, and a Scizor in front of a brown haired teen boy.

'Trainers!' "Scizor, use X-Scissor!"the brown haired trainer yelled. The Scizor lunged towards the Tyranitar, it's pincers forming an X. It crashed into the bigger pokemon, pushing the Tyranitar back a few steps.

"Fire Fang!" the other trainer commanded more calmly. Flames engulfed the Tyranitar's fangs as it bit the Scizor's pincer. The Scizor yanked it's pincer back, and shook out the flame with an angry screech.

"Are those...trainers?" Bracken asked in a whisper.

"Yes," Soaren replied without taking his eyes off the battle. 'I don't trust humans, especially those who catch pokemon!'

"Why are they making the pokemon fight each other?" the Eevee asked.

"I don't know...maybe they are mad at each other, so they want their pokemon to settle their dirty work. It's not like they could battle for themselves, anyway. They're much too weak for that," muttered Soaren. "What's worse is that some of the pokemon actually enjoy it."

"Weird," Bracken responded. The Eevee was silent for a moment, and then asked, "How do they even fit into a pokeball? Do they shrink or something?"

"I don't really-" Soaren broke off as he realized that the Tyranitar's trainer was turning towards them. The Jolteon quickly pushed his head back inside of the bush, and shoved Bracken back.

Holding his breath, he strained his ears to listen. The trainers were talking quietly, now. To his frustration, he couldn't make out a word they were saying. A jolt of fear flooded through him as he heard footsteps coming near. 'No!'

Soaren looked at Bracken. He wouldn't let them hurt him. "Bracken," he urgently whispered, "get ready to run! When I tell you to, get away from here as fast as you can! I'll hold 'em off."

The Eevee's eyes widened and he began to tremble, but he nodded his head. Soaren tensed himself to spring. An eerie silence hung in the air, almost as if the humans were gone. But Soaren knew better.

Finally the silence broke. "Forget it, there's nothing here," the Tyranitar's trainer sounded dangerously close. Soaren blinked in disbelief as he heard the trainer start to walk away.

After a few minutes, he cautiously peered out. The trainers were only a visible speck in the distance. "Whew, they're leaving," Bracken piped up.

"And with any luck, they won't be back," Soaren added. It wasn't often that trainers came into Eon territory, this had to be reported. "Come on, let's go tell the others."


	3. Chapter 3

**This story is typed on my Iphone. In order to indicate a character's inner thoughts, I'll be using the ' symbol, as italics refuses to work for me.**

 **Giro's View**

Giro stared at a pile of Cheri berries. 'Will nine be enough? No, better be on the safe side and go with ten.' He plucked another bright red berry and set it on his pile. Finally satisfied, he was just about to take them and leave, when he heard a rustling noise.

He looked up, and turned his ears towards the sound. 'It sounds heavier than me, but not by a ton. The pace of it sounds like it's walking on hind maybe it's a...'

Suddenly, a Lucario stepped out. Giro stared at his familiar battle scarred face. "Raoul!" he exclaimed. Raoul was an old friend to Kuro, and well known by the Eon pack. He was an older pokemon, but not quite an elder.

The Lucario dipped his head. "Hello, Giro," he politely addressed, "it's been a while. I hope I can assume that everything has been going all right here."

"Yes, of course," Giro answered. "Kuro will be happy to see you. So, what brings you here?"

"Well, I've come to ask a favor," the Lucario hesitated as if he didn't feel comfortable asking for anything. "You see, there's been some sort of big skirmish in this valley I've been visiting. It got ugly, and a bunch of pokemon were badly poisoned. There's been a shortage of berries down there, and there isn't enough to go around. So I was wondering if it would be alright with Kuro if I might could borrow some Pecha berries, and then...bring some back later?"

"What? Borrow? If they need it that badly, they can just keep them!" Giro replied. A prickle of unease twitched inside of him. Raoul should have known by now that the Eon pack would never ignore needy pokemon. Had something happened to Raoul to make him think that they wouldn't?

"Raoul...you know that we will never turn down giving help to those who need it," said Giro.

"I hope that stays true, but remember...nothing is impossible," the Lucario replied, sadness brimming in his eyes. He was silent for a moment, and then spoke, "I would like to believe that the Eon pack will always be the kind, good doing pack that it is...but pokemon change. Fear... loss... anger... tragedy... they all make pokemon do things they never though they would do before. I've seen them change...good pokemon...they're no longer who they used to be. They do things they swore they would never do. They don't even realize the monster that they've become."

Sadness emitted from Raoul so strongly that Giro felt as if he would choke in it. Curiosity burned through his pelt, he wanted to know what the Lucario had seen. What had Raoul seen that could make him doubt his friends like this?

The Vaporeon wanted to ask more questions. But after looking at the troubled look in Raoul's eyes, something inside of him warned him not to ask them. "Well, we're still ready to help now, and I know Kuro feels the same way."

Raoul met Giro's gaze. "Thank you," he finally said. "I won't forget this, and neither will they."

"This way," Giro gestured with a paw. "Come on, I'll show you where all the good berries grow."

 **Haretta's View**

Haretta padded through the forest, patrolling for anything unusual. It had been a quiet day so far; nothing really interesting had happened. She was just about to turn back when she heard vicious snarling.

The Glaceon quickly located the source of the sound. It was coming from down wind of her,hidden behind thick foliage. Listening more closely, she realized that it was the sounds of a battle. Quietly she crept up and pressed herself into the middle of a bush.

A Zangoose and an Absol were squaring off. "Give it up!" the Zangoose hissed.

"Never! It's mine!" the Absol snarled. Haretta looked down and realized that an Oran berry lay between the two. 'So they're willing to tear each other up over a stupid berry?'

"Yours?" the Zangoose scoffed. "I saw it first!"

"But I need it more than you!" the Absol growled.

At this point,Haretta decided to step in. "Actually, it belongs to neither of you," she contradicted them. "You're in Eon pack territory. If you take anything from here, you're stealing from us. And we don't take kindly to trespassers...or thieves."

The Absol stared at the Glaceon with her mouth agape. The Zangoose whirled around and glared. "Stay out of this, frost breath! This has nothing to do with you!" the Zangoose spat.

The fur on Haretta's neck began to rise. 'Why you arrogant, useless heap of berry rot!' Struggling to keep her cool, she slowly spoke, "Get out of here, NOW! Before I make you!"

Trembling, the Absol answered, "I..."

"Coward!" the Zangoose taunted it. "You're seriously scared of that thing? I can take her in my sleep!" Yowling, he launched himself toward Haretta with his claws outstretched.

Haretta reared up on her hind legs and caught the Zangoose by the neck with an Ice Fang. Then, she slammed back on all fours, letting the Zangoose roll away with the impact. He lay there dazed for a moment, then shakily got up. "How?" he breathed.

"Do I have your attention, now? Or would you like to try again?" Haretta grinned. To her satisfaction, the Zangoose fled. She then turned to the Absol, which started to slowly back away. Glancing down, she realized another pair of red eyes peering from out of a bush behind the Absol. It was identical to the Absol, except it was much smaller and it's fur looked more soft and fluffy. 'So that's your young. No wonder...'

Sighing, Haretta strolled over to the berry. Then, she rolled over to the Absol. "Take it, but next time try asking. You don't want to teach your kid that it's nice to steal," Haretta said, starting to walk away.

"Th-thank you!" the Absol called out. Haretta nodded and trotted off.


	4. Chapter 4

**Akira's View**

Akira was running through a tall grassed meadow. She could hear the sound of her pack mates running, but she was unable to see any of them. Suddenly, they all yelled in alarm. The Espeon felt herself trip, and then she slammed into the ground. A metal snare was pinning her down to where she was completely unable to move. Completely powerless to help her friends, she could only struggle to attempt to free herself. She started to hear menacing laughter and footsteps coming towards her. 'No! They can't capture me! Not like this!' Desperately, she chewed on the tough metal wire...to no avail. Realizing that it was hopeless, she squeezed her eyes shut and waited for her fate.

A creepy silence hung in the air. Akira cracked open an eye and saw only darkness. Her entire world was pitch black. She felt that the metal snare was no longer there. 'No, this can't be right! I never came here!' The Espeon sat down and tried to figure out how she got there.

A loud wail broke the silence. It sound so heart-broken and full of despair that Akira could almost feel pain. "What's wrong? Where are you?" she yelled. The grief-stricken wail continued until Akira felt like she wasn't able to stand hearing it any longer. She tried to peer through the darkness, but wasn't even able to see her own paws.

Suddenly, everything became whiter and whiter, until everything became bleached in white. Akira felt snow pelt down on her fur, and it swirled so fast that she couldn't see through the blizzard. It was cold ...colder than anything she had ever felt before.

She shuddered violently and it stung to breath. Her body was starting to stiffen up; her bones felt like they would splinter and snap with the fierce coldness. The pain intensified and her legs suddenly became stiffer. Looking down, she realized in horror that she was turning to ice. But there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Then, the world changed again. The air was muggy and she was surrounded by tall pine trees. Her sides heaved and she gasped for breath as if she had been running for miles. A searing pain shot through her neck with such strong force that she fell over. The Espeon flinched and scrunched her eyes.

Then, she felt fire burning near her. The heat from its flames became nearer and more hotter still. Her pelt became unbearably hot, and she weakly opened her eyes.

The world was changing so quickly that she couldn't keep up with it. Different scenery swirled before her eyes until it all became a blur. Her vision became dizzy and disoriented. Her head began to ache. All of her pain intensified until she felt like she was about to burst.

Akira sat up with a gasp. Then, the Espeon blinked around in confusion. She was surrounded by familiar cave walls, a patch of the starry sky was visible through the entrance. Akira looked over and saw Kuro's sleeping form beside her.

The Espeon sighed with relief. It was just a dream; she never left the cave, she had been home the whole time. Still, it had felt so real. Akira frowned, deep in thought. Psychic pokemon were known to sometimes had special dreams that warned them of things to come in the future. Good or bad, the dreams always came true. 'Could it be possible?'

Akira shook her head. 'No! It was just a bad dream. It wasn't a warning...just a dream.' The Espeon laid her head back down with a sigh. 'It was just a dream...a regular, ordinary dream...Please let it be just a dream.'


	5. Chapter 5

**Bracken's view**

Bracken felt a paw prodding into his side. Sleepily, he cracked open one eye. As his eyes adjusted to the early morning light in the cave, he saw Soaren was standing over him.

"Wake up little buddy! I'm supposed to teach you how to climb trees today. Remember?"

"Oh yeah!" Bracken exclaimed, instantly awake. The Eevee dashed towards the cave entrance. "Come on! Let's go!"

Bracken raced outside of the cave. Then turned to see that Soaren was following him. When he looked forward again, he realized that a Sylveon was right in his path. 'Sierra!' Her back was turned to him, so she couldn't see him coming.

Quickly, he tried to stop, but he stumbled. Suddenly, the world became a blur as he clumsily tumbled along the ground. Then, his back slammed onto the ground, knocking the breath out of him.

Sierra turned around and blinked with shock. "Bracken! Are you ok?" she asked, her voice filled with concern. Winded, he could only nod in response as he gasped for breath. 'Ack! Why does it have to hurt so hard to breath?'

"He'll be fine," Soaren assured her as he padded up.

"Are you sure?" Sierra asked casting another concerned glance." He fell pretty hard."

"Don't worry. He's tougher than he looks. I'll just sit here and let him catch his breath for a minute," Soaren replied sitting down. Soon, he and the fairy type were chatting away, while Bracken starred at the clouds and tried to get his breath back.

After he had rested a few minutes, the Eevee sat up. "Ok, I feel better now," he told Soaren as he started butting the Jolteon's shoulder with his head.

Soaren flicked him away. "In a minute," he responded. Then, he continued talking with Sierra.

"With you that'll be another hour," the Eevee muttered under his breath. He waited on them for a while, and then started impatiently stomping his foot, hoping Soaren would take a hint. But the Jolteon didn't pay any attention, so Bracken resigned to amusing himself by drawing dopey looking pictures of Soaren in the dirt with a stick. Eventually, a little black beetle crawled over one of his drawings and fell on its back. Bracken watched it flail its leg wildly as it tried to right itself. He tried to help it up with his stick, but it was a stupid beetle that kept on falling over every three seconds. So he placed it onto the gaping mouth of one of his drawings to where it looked like Soaren was trying to eat the beetle.

The Eevee found this to be very funny and started giggling. He closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them again, he noticed on oddly shaped shadow of a cloud that was gradually growing darker. Puzzled, he stared at it for a few seconds and slowly looked up.

Silvery metal crashed into him, and steel talons locked around his back. Bracken stared in a shocked state as he left the ground and the world below gradually became smaller.

Still in a daze, he looked up and seen that he was in the clutches of a Skarmory. Coming to his senses, he began to struggle wildly. The Skarmory mockingly laughed at him as it watched him try to get away in vain. Hearing his laughter only made the Eevee angry. 'I'll show you!' Bracken bared his fangs and bit the steel bird's leg as hard as he could.

Pain wracked through his mouth as his teeth clanged against steel. This made the Skarmory laugh even harder. "Stupid pokémon!" it laughed in a high pitched, screechy voice. "Your flimsy attacks can't hurt me!" For the first time, fear set in Bracken as he realized that the Skarmory was right. 'I can't get away!' Glancing down, he saw Soaren and Sierra gazing back up in horror.

"HELP ME!" he screamed. He watched as electricity engulfed Soaren's fur and then a Thunderbolt blasted into the sky. But the Skarmory was ready for it; it swerved to the side, where the attack hit Bracken with full force. Bracken yowled with pain. 'You're supposed to fry him! Not me, dummy!'

Suddenly, a flamethrower attack bore down on the Skarmory from above, and then something slammed into it. The Skarmory released Bracken with a screech of pain. The world once more became a blur as the Eevee plummeted down with a wail of terror.


	6. Chapter 6

**Jade** **'s view**

Jade was padding through the forest, she almost at the hollow when a scream pierced the air. "HELP ME!" 'That's Bracken!' Adrenalin rushing, Jade put on an extra surge of speed. Branches and shrubbery whipped against her pelt, but the Leafeon was barely aware of it. She burst through the woods and into the clearing in time to see a Thunderbolt shot into the air. The Leafeon watched as a Skarmory quickly swerved and instead it hit...'Oh no!' Jade flinched as Bracken yowled in pain. 'What's he doing in a Skarmory's talons?!'

Suddenly, a flamethrower burst from the trees and hit the Skarmory on the back. Immediately, Dakota leaped down from the Lookout Rocks and crashed down onto the Skarmory. The steel bird gave a shriek of pain and dropped Bracken; then started plummeting down with Dakoto still clinging on to its back. Bracken fell through the air with a terrified wail.

Jade bunched her muscles and dashed towards the falling Eevee. Willing herself to go faster, she made a desperate charge. Panic set in as she realized she wasn't going to catch him in time. A black streak flashed past her, and snagged the Eevee's scruff moments before he hit the ground.

Jade skidded to a stop as Kuro turned around with Bracken still from his mouth. The Eevee hung stiff and rigidly, and wasn't moving very much. Tiny sparks flickered through his fur. Soaren raced up, "What's wrong with him?"the Jolteon demanded.

Jade looked back at the stiff Eevee. "He's paralyzed, and his health is pretty low,"she replied. "Quick, get him inside so I can treat him." The group of pokemon hustled inside of the cave, except for Dakoto who was still pining the Skarmory to the ground.

Jade padded into her storage room and grabbed a Cheri berry and an Oran berry. Kuro was carefully setting Bracken down a thick bed of moss and leaves, Soaren and Sierra hovering nearby. Jade placed the Cheri berry next to the paralyzed Eevee. "Bracken, do you think you can manage eating this?"the Leafeon asked.

"Yeah," the Eevee faintly answered. Stiffly, he reached forward and slowly took a bite of it, chewing it very slowly in small bites. Eventually, his chewing increased speed until he finished the berry.

"Can you move, now?" Soaren anxiously asked. Bracken shakily stood up on his paws and walked around in a circle.

"Good, now eat this,"Jade instructed Bracken,pushing the Oran berry towards the little pokemon. Bracken tucked into the Oran berry with a little more energy than he had while eating the first. While he was eating, she noticed scratch marks on his back. They weren't very deep, but a few droplets of blood were seeping at the skin. 'Hmm...that doesn't need to get infected.' Jade went back to her supply room to see what she had in stock. The Leafeon spotted a clump of Bitter Herbs and selected them. She could turn it into a paste and apply it to Bracken's wounds to keep infection out. Then, she went over to a pile of moss that she kept for bandaging and scooped up a pawful.

Then, she walked back over to Bracken and started applying the Bitter Herb paste. "OW!" the Eevee yelped. "That stings!"

"Sorry, I should have warned you, but you have to have it on to keep your scratches from getting infected," she explained. She grabbed the moss and patted it down on the paste."Keep this on too, and let it air out over night,"she instructed.

Hearing a noise, she looked up to see Dakota coming in dragging the Skarmory with him. Kuro stepped forward with a snarl. "You...have some explaining to do,"the Umbreon growled at the Skarmory.

The Skarmory nervously looked up. "I-it wasn't m-my idea!" the Skarmory stammered. "It was the boss! H-he told us to do it!" he shrieked.

"Who's 'us'? And why are you so interested in snatching up defenseless, little kids?" Soaren glowered.

"I...NO! I'm not allowed to say!" the Skarmory protested.

Dakoto glared at the Skarmory and revealed his fangs. Fire slowly started to form at the base of his mouth. Panicked, the Skarmory started shrieking again. "Alright! Alright! I'll tell you already! I'm a member of the Steel Searchers mine all kinds of stuff like steel, metals, gems and...er...other rare stuff in moutains, caves and mines and stuff. Umm...oh yeah! We do forgery and make battle weapons."

"So what does any of that have to do with me?"Bracken asked.

"Yeah, enough with the want some real answers," Soaren grumbled.

"Tell us why you were trying to take Bracken from us," Kuro demanded.

"Ah...um...ok. Well, not all of us are small enough to fit through where we need to mine up stuff, or if it's too dangerous for us to go down somewhere because we might weigh too much and fall through. So our boss tells us to find little pokemon to do that stuff for us. Oh, and we use 'em to test if the air is poisonous or if there might be flooding down below."

"But...how do you get them out of conditions like that?" Sierra interrupted.

The Skarmory stared at the Sylveon as if she had gone insane. "We don't, if they can't get out on their own they we just replace them with new ones." The Skarmory made a wry face. "But it can be a real pain though. Sometimes the dead ones start stinking up the place when they start rotting. When the smell is no longer tolerable, we send more to come get it out. Ugh...and the new ones take forever to do it. They just freeze up and stand real scared-like. At that point you have to yell at them a lot just to get them to move." The Skarmory snorted. "As if a dead corpse could actually hurt you."

Sierra's eyes widened with shock and her mouth wordless gaped ,her face crumpled. She looked like she was trying to say something, but all she could get out was, "Oh."

Hot rage burned through Jade's pelt. The way the stupid, arrogant, metal bird carelessly shrugged away the fact that those tiny lives were dying for no good reason made her blood he had the nerve to act disgusted about their dying stench! 'Kids! They do that to little kids!' The Leafeon wished that Arceus, himself would come down and slowly tear the Skarmory to little pieces and hurl his remains into a boiling by the violence she wished for, she shuddered. 'I can't remember the last time I thought that violently, or ever thinking that way at all!'

The others seemed to share her anger. All of them glaring at the Skarmory. He finally seemed to realize his mistake. "B-but it...wasn't my idea! It was the boss 's! He's the one you should mad at n-not me!"

"And who is your boss?" Dakoto asked with an icy tone to his voice.

"He...he's an Aggron, and h-his name is Waru," the Skarmory stammered again.

"Hey, guys I-" Akira broke of as she entered the cave. Jade watched the Espeon look around the room, taking everything in. She padded up to the pokémon. "What's...going on?"she asked. Everyone quickly tried to fill her in at one.

"HEY!" Bracken interrupted their conversation. "He's getting away!" the Eevee jumped up and down. They all turned to see the Skarmory take off into flight and fly out of the cave.

"Great! Just great!" Soaren growled. "We'll never get him back, don't even know where to look for that stupid Association thing he was screeching about."

"Or where to help those poor little kids," Sierra somewhat quietly put in.

"In dark situations like this," Kuro started, "you have to look at the positive side. You'll never survive life if you can't."Everyone stared hard at the Umbreon. 'How can we possibly find a positive side in all of this mess?' Kuro continued, "Yes, it's true we lost the Skarmory and we don't have a clue were to look, but he gave us just enough information. We know the name of his association, as well as the name of the leader and what they do. Someone has bound to have heard of the Steel Searchers Association or of Waru, and when we find that someone they can show us were to find them. We're probably not the only ones searching for them, and it's likely that we'll find some that will be more than happy to band up with us to take the Association down. Don't give up! Remember, if we don't carry any hope with us, we are doomed to fail."


	7. Chapter 7

**Dakoto's view**

Lost in thought, Dakoto trotted along, oblivious to his surroundings. 'Why didn't I keep a closer eye on that Skarmory when I had the chance? I should have been paying more attention to it! Now it's my fault that he's gone.' It had been days since he had last seen the Skarmory, and no one seemed to know where his whereabouts where. Dakoto had looked especially hard, but to no avail. Suddenly, the Flareon stumbled against a large root of a tree trunk. Snapping out of his thoughts, he quickly regained his balance and looked around at his surroundings. He found himself in the most densely forested part of the territory, and close to the borderline.

He was just about to turn back, when he heard a frantic voice. "PLEASE! We're not lying! You have to believe us!" Intrigued, Dakoto continued to listen.

"Don't take us for fools!" a voice hissed back. "Do you honestly believe that we're dumb enough to fall for that pathetic excuse? You're just trying to steal our prey! Or maybe even trying to invade!"

Dakoto quietly padded forward. Peering through a clump of bushes, he saw a pair of Manectric and Persian facing each other. 'The Manectric must be from the Thunder Strike Band, and those Persian are definitely from Slash Clan.'

"No!" a female Manectric persisted. "Honest, we followed his trail and it ends here! You've got to let us look; the mother is frantic!"

"We don't have to let you do anything," the other Persian growled. "Besides, it's not our fault if she can't keep up with her young. Your Band should pay more attention to what goes on inside your own borders, than in ours. Anyway, it's none of our concern."

"When it comes to disappearing children, it's everyone's concern," Dakoto challenged. The Persian snapped their heads in his direction.

"And what are YOU doing here?" one hissed through clenched teeth. "This isn't any of your business! Get off of our territory!"

Dakoto frowned, growing more suspicious of the two Persian. They were awfully intent on keeping others away from their territory for some reason. He hadn't even crossed the border and they were already trying to make him leave. 'But should I have expected any different? This is Scratch Clan after all.' Dakoto gestured with a paw, "Look, I haven't crossed onto your territory. See?"

"And make sure it stays that way!" the other Persian yowled. "Or we'll shred your throat out!" Dakoto narrowed his eyes. He wasn't intimidated by the Persian. He knew he could take both of them on himself, but that wasn't going to get him anywhere, right now.

Hoping the Manectric would be more helpful, he turned to them. "Could either of you please explain to me about what's going on?"

The male Manectric stepped forward. "One of the young Electrike from our Band has gone missing. We've tracked down its scent to here. But THEY" the Manectric growled at the Persian, "refuse to listen. And I'm starting to wonder if the reason they want to keep us out of their border is because they know exactly where he is, and they're keeping him hostage!"

"And why would we do that, dummy? We ain't got a use for that lump of fuzz." a Persian spat.

"If you were any smarter, you would have realized that his scent isn't even on our territory. It ends right at the border," the other Persian retorted.

"Then you must have picked him up and stolen him!"the male Manectric howled with rage.

"Wait!" Dakoto interrupted. "You said it ends right at the border? Without any other trace?" he asked the Persian.

The Persian narrowed its eyes and raised a brow. "Yeah, what does it matter to you?" he suspiciously asked.

"Steel Searchers," Dakoto mumbled to himself. If a Skarmory could fly away with an Eevee, it could easily do the same with an Electrike. If it was flying, it wouldn't leave a scent trail to follow on the ground. Which would explain why the Electrike seemed to have vanished without a trace.

"What did you say?" the female Manectric slowly asked.

"Steel Searchers," Dakoto repeated with more volume. "I think they might be responsible for this."

"And what is a Steel Searcher?" the Manectric persisted.

Quickly, Dakoto launched into the story of Bracken's near kidnapping. The nearby pokémon stared at him intently as he told them of how they interrogated the Skarmory, and learned what the Steel Searchers Association was. "But he managed to get away, and we haven't seen any sign of him since," he ended.

The female Manectric stared off blankly. "So...you think...that they took him away?" she finally asked.

"That's what it looks like to me," he bleakly answered.

"So no one even knows where they are? He's...he's just...doomed to die there?" the female Manectic's voice broke.

"Well, of course he's doomed," one of the Persian replied. "How can he be anything but? Know one knows where to find him, and you can't even track him down. He's a goner for sure,"

Dakoto glared at the Persian. 'You spineless, no good, blubbering fool! Are you really that heartless, you mange eater?!'

"NO!" the other Manectric protested. "He's not a goner! We WILL find him! We just have to...I'll..." the Manectric trailed off.

"See, it's completely hopeless," the Persian sneered. "You should watch your Band's remaining young more carefully,just like OUR clan does."

"No one asked for your opinion!" snarled Dakoto. "And if you're not going to be any help, you should just get your stinking tail out of here!"

"How DARE you!?" the Persian hissed. "Why I ought to-" the Persian broke of with a yowl of pain as he was electrocuted by a Thunderbolt. Dakoto looked over at the male Manectric and seen tiny sparks flickering in his fur.

"LEAVE, NOW!" he ordered.

"You...will pay... for that!" the Persian icily threatened. Then, the pair skulked away, casting back angry glares as they left.

The female Manectric sighed. "Maybe they're right," she finally spoke. "Maybe there is no hope of finding him. This is going to completely crush Anita."

"No," Dakoto replied. "Don't give up! Not while there's still a chance."

"What chance is that?" the male Manectric asked defeatedly.

"A gathering," Dakoto answered. The Manectric shot him puzzled looks. "As long as the Steel Searchers Association exists, this concerns all of us. They sound like a popular organization, and someone has bound to have heard of them. And what better place to find out than at a gathering?"

"It could work," the female Manectric replied.

"It couldn't hurt to try, at least," the other Manectric added. Then, he gazed up at Dakoto. "You're from Eon Pack, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm Dakoto," the Flareon answered. "And you?"

"Conan," the male Manectric replied. "And this is Kiran," he said gesturing to the female Manectric.

"So, you really think that a gathering will work?" Kiran asked.

Dakoto gazed up into the sky. 'Will a gathering really work? They had worked to stop one could help now.' "It has to," the Flareon vowed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sierra's view**

The light of the setting sun shone through the forest trees, casting dark shadows on the ground. Sierra trekked along with her pack mates. Kuro had insisted that the entire Eon Pack attend this gathering. In the past, a few members stayed behind at the cave to make sure that the camp wasn't invaded while they were away. 'There hasn't been any wars in a while, so it should okay. No one would want to miss a gathering like this, anyway!'

Gatherings were events that all of the nearby territory owning groups of pokémon attended. Usually, they were called for to settle border disputes or arguments that had gotten out off control. They were held in a quarry with tall, rocky walls that seemed to stretch to the sky.

Besides the Eon Pack, there were eight other groups who attended these gatherings. They were the: Blazing Pride, Dark Moon Pack, Slash Clan, Rippling Fleet, Thunder Strike Band, Scorching Pack, Shining Pride, and the Desert Blazing Pride consisted of Pyroar and Litleo. Mightyena and Poochyena made up the Dark Moon Pack. Slash Clan's members were Persian and Meowth. The Rippling Fleet was a group of Floatzel and Buizel. The members of the Thunder Strike Band were Manectric and Electrike. Scorching Pack had Houndoom and Houndour. The Shining Pride consisted of Luxray, Luxio, and Shinx. The Desert Tribe was a group of Sandslash and SandShrew.

The Eon Pack topped a grassy ridge and looked down at the rocky quarry below. Pokémon were filling in it, clustered among the rocks. Ledges of rock jutted out above the assembling pokémon. Each leader was poised on a ledge above their group.

"You all ready?" Kuro asked. Everyone nodded in response. "Good, let's go on then." Kuro led the way as the rest filed in behind him. Aside from Scorching Pack and the Desert Tribe, all of the other pokémon were already there. Some happily chatting amongst the other groups, while others were more reserved like the Dark Moon Pack.

Sierra glanced over to see some of the members of the Blazing Pride and Shining Pride arguing between themselves. Out of all the groups, these two seemed to dislike each other the most. Which was odd, considering that they probably had the most in common. Sierra leaned over and whispered to Soaren, "Why do you think they can't stand each other?"

The Jolteon shrugged. "I always heard that it was because of their names. I've been told that they think that one of them copied off of the other's name, but no one can ever agree on who came up with their group's name first."

"Pride...that's all it is," Haretta put in. Soaren and Sierra turned to look at the Glaceon. "The whole lot of them are a bunch of hot heads who put to much pride in who they are, and how great they think their noble ancestry is. It's no secret that both of them think that they're better than the other. But what can you expect? With that much bragging and ego, they're bound to not like each other."

"Maybe not," Giro mildly put out. "It could go back to something much deeper. And maybe their need to show off their...er...self-importance stems from something along that area."

"Yeah...maybe," Haretta replied. Although, Sierra could tell that she wasn't at all convinced of Giro's theory. The Eon Pack entered the quarry and settled in below a ledge. Sierra looked and seen the Scorching Pack entering the quarry and yellow specs in the distance suggested that the Desert Tribe were arriving as well.

"So, when are we supposed to start this thing?" grumbled a Pyroar.

"Beats me," a Floatzel replied. "Who called for this gathering, anyway?"

A female Mightyena looked towards the Eon Pack. "I believe that the Eons called for it, am I correct?"

"Yes, we did," Kuro answered. "And we can start as soon as the rest get here."

"Or we could start now, like it's supposed be started," a Persian sneered. Sierra looked to see that the voice belonged to Skarsradd, the leader of the Slash Clan. Sierra noticed that a lot of the Persian were muttering and glaring at Dakoto, but if the Flareon noticed he showed no signs if it. The Persian also shot a bunch of dirty looks at the Thunder Strike Band.

"Funny," the approaching Scorching Pack leader growled, "I don't remember anyone putting [i]YOU[/i] in charge. Are you looking for a fight, kitty heart? Because I wouldn't try me if I were you!" Sierra felt the fur on her neck prickle nervously as she looked at Mace the Houndoom's angry glare. Skarsradd hissed back at the Houndoom.

"Enough!" roared Alistair, the Pyroar's leader. "Blazing Pride has far more important things to do than listen to petty squabbles!"

"Yes, but you'll find plenty of time to tell us all about it,"muttered Haikaru, the leader of Shining Pride.

"What was that?" snarled Alistair. Sierra nervously swallowed. With flaring tempers and tension rising, it looked like things were about to turn very ugly. The Desert Tribe arrived and looked uncomfortably around them. 'We can't afford any more fighting, not now!'

Suddenly, Kuro mounted the overhanging ledge. "Listen! This is EXTREMELY important!" he yelled. The quarry silenced as all of the pokemon turned to look up at the Umbreon.

The leaders of each group quickly ran up to stand on their ledge. "Of course no one has a problem when HE wants to start," Skarsradd scowled.

Kuro ignored him and went on. "We've called you all here to discuss a threat that endangers us all...even more so to your young." Sierra felt a ripple of unease shift through the crowd and faint murmurings could be heard. "A couple of days ago, a Skarmory entered our camp and tried to carry of our youngest member, Bracken. Dakoto managed to bring him down, and we were able to question him. He got away before we could interrogate him fully, but we got some vital answers from him. He claimed to have worked for a group known as the Steel Searchers Association. Apparently, they mine for rare items, forgery, and more stuff along that line. Anyway, the Skarmory said that his boss, Waru, has been sending him and his colleagues to find young pokémon and bring them back."

"Why would he do that?" Haikaru asked with a shake of his head. "Sounds like kids would just get in the way. It doesn't make any sense."

Kuro was silent for a few moments. Sierra could tell that he was thinking very carefully on what to say next. "Sometimes they find places that they are to small to fit in, so they send the little pokémon in there. Or they send them in pretty bad conditions."

"How bad are these conditions exactly?" asked Strident, the leader of the Thunder Strike Band.

Kuro looked at him for a second. Sierra cringed for what was coming next. "I'm not going to lie...they're down right awful. The Skarmory said that they send them to test if areas that they suspect could collapse, are filled with poisonous air, or flooded. They care nothing for who send out, and will leave them to die there without any remorse!" A ghostly silence engulfed the quarry. Many could only stand there with their mouths hanging open stupidly, the rest stood in mute shock. Then, seeming all at once, the quarry erupted with angry roars and outbursts. Outraged questions were hurled up; Kuro let them die down until he spoke again.

"We don't know where the Steel Searchers Association is, but that's why we are here. Does anyone here have an idea on where to find them? Or does anyone know of Waru? Even if you've only heard of a group similar to them, please tell us!"

"I think I know someone who can find them," a Mightyena piped up. "There's a Sneasel that comes to our territory. He's always trying to get us to buy stuff from him. I think I remember him saying something about scoring some valuable items from a popular steel finding association. I can't remember exactly if he said the name, but Steel Searchers kind of sounds familiar now that I think of it."

"It's worth a try," Kuro replied. "Alkina," he addressed the lead Mightyena, "I know this is a lot to ask for, but we really need to talk to that Sneasel. Would you grant us permission to cross over on your territory?"

"Well...I can't guarantee that he'll be around, but if you want to try...we won't stop you,"Alkina replied.

"Thank you," Kuro responded with a dip of his head.

"So you're going to try to play hero and take on this whole organization down by yourselves are you?" sneered Skarsradd. "Pfft. That obviously wasn't thought out."

"No," answered Strident before Kuro could reply. "They will have US with them," the Manectric gestured to the Thunder Strike Band. "We believe that this association has taken one of our young. Now, it time to settle scores!" The Thunder Strike Band howled in agreement.

Apache, the lead Sandslash raised his paw. "I believe that we could also be of great assistance. Ground type moves are very effective against steel types." The Desert Tribe nodded in agreement, and flexed their claws.

"Great!" Kuro replied. "All of your help is greatly appreciated."

After the gathering, Sierra found herself under the stars back at the camp. They were deciding on who should go. "I think I should go," Dakoto spoke up. "Fire is super effective against steel types."

"Steel moves can barely even touch me, and I've been itchin to put down a smack-down on them ever since we saw that Skarmory!" Soaren put in.

"Steel type moves aren't very effective against me either," added Giro.

"I...don't think... I can do it," stammered Sierra.

"That's okay," Akira assured her. "I probably won't be going either. My psychic attacks won't work very well on steel types." 'But that's not why I can't do it! It's because I can't bear to see those suffering little pokémon...or the ones who didn't make it.'

"Yeah, steel types are super effective against me so I guess that puts me out," Haretta said somewhat glumly.

Kuro scanned everyone over. "I think it would be best to take Dakoto, Giro, Soaren, Jade, and of course I'll be going."

"Me?" asked Jade, surprise written on her face.

"Yes, if things go south...I'd prefer to have someone who knows their way around medicine with us," Kuro grimly replied.

"Oh, of course," was all that Jade said in response.

"So the rest of us are staying here, right?" asked Haretta.

Kuro nodded. "And Akira will be in charge here while we're gone. We'll be leaving first thing tomorrow morning." Sensing that the talk was over, everyone dispersed to do their own things.

Soaren padded up to the Sylveon. "You okay?" he asked. "You look like something's bothering you."

"Oh...it's just...I'm a little nervous and maybe a little scared too I guess," she confessed.

Soaren cocked his head. "About staying here with so many of us gone? Or..." he trailed off as he looked at her face. "Oh...I get it, now."

"Yeah," she sighed, looking down at the ground.

"Well, at least you don't have to go see it," the Jolteon tried to reassure her. "We're going to get the rest out of there, and permanently stop all of this madness!"

"I just want all of you to come back safely," she told him. 'Especially you.' The Sylveon blushed after thinking that, even though she knew no one could hear her thoughts.

"They better come back!" Bracken interrupted the somber mood. "Otherwise I'll find them and kill 'em, even if they're already dead!" The two pokemon stared at the Eevee and then burst into laughter, relieving Sierra of her embarrassment. 'Bracken, I'll never stop wondering how you always know just what to say.'


	9. Chapter 9

**Nanuluk's view**

The young Electrike looked around wildly. He was dangling by his scruff in a Scizor's pinschers. They had just landed in a dirt clearing, surrounded by pines and tall grass. To the left side, he could see a small mountain. On his right, he could see several caves and gaping holes leading to underground tunnels. Booths and roughly built shelves with odd arrays of items crammed onto them were scattered around. Smoke billowed out of one of the caves and sounds of clanking metal could be heard from it. An Excadrill carrying a box of metal spikes emerged from one of the caves. He passed his box to a Bisharp standing at a nearby booth, who took the spikes and arranged them with other pieces of battle armor. 'Where am I?'

Nanuluk could only watch as a large Aggron approached. The steel type scanned him over with an unreadable expression. The Electrike felt that the Aggron's piercing blue eyes could see right through him, and he wanted to shrink away from the horns that felt dangerously close to his face.

Finally the Aggron spoke, "Not the best choice to go with an electric type, but at least you came back with something." The Aggron turned to glare at a nearby Skarmory. "At least you're not like some that abandon your catch and stroll on in here without anything to show for yourself just because of a little setback." The Skarmory swallowed nervously and quickly scuttled off into one of the caves.

The Scizor cleared his throat. "Well, I know his typing isn't exactly what I'd call ordeal. However, I found him wandering by himself, and it seemed like a waste of good opportunity just to leave him there. Plus he didn't put up much of a fight, either."

"Fine. Put him with the rest, then," the Aggron said before turning away without much more interest. The rest? The Scizor carried him inside the mountain's entrance, while Nanuluk was still in a state of shock and disbelief. 'NO! This isn't happening to me! IT'S NOT! This is all...just a bad dream! I'm going to wake up and I'm going to be back home! Yeah, and then I'll laugh about this. Come on! JUST WAKE UP ALREADY!'

The inside of the mountain was incredibly vast with endless tunnels and caverns. A few piles of burning sticks offered scant lighting. The area swarmed with busy pokémon. The Scizor took a path that lead to a long corridor and stopped at an entrance with a Zangoose waiting just outside of it.

The Zangoose looked at Nanuluk in a similar manner that the Aggron had used before. "About time," she snorted. "We're running low. At the rate you' re bringing them in, we're gonna run all out." Her gaze suddenly hardened. "And you you know what that means," she icily hissed. Nanuluk had no idea what she was talking about, but his stomach filled with an odd kind of dread that he had never felt before. 'I don't like these pokémon...they're bad. Why do they even want me here? And what did she mean by "running low"? What are they going to do to me? I wonder if they're going to kill me. I wish Mother was here. She wouldn't let them do it...I don't want to die!'

"Keep your fur on, Shuriken," the Scizor snorted. "It's just been going slow these past few days. It'll pick up soon enough."

"It better!" she growled. Then the Zangoose stepped aside. Suddenly Nanuluk found himself being tossed into the air and was hurled into the entrance that the Zangoose had been standing in front of. He slammed into the ground with a thud. Quickly scrambling to his paws, he jumped up to run away. But found that there was no were to go. He was standing in a small, dimly lit room. The source of the light came from a torch burning high on the wall.

The Electric type backed away and pressed himself against the wall, wanting to put as much distance between him and the other two pokémon as possible. Frantically looking around the room, he finally noticed other pokémon sitting there. A Minccino had curled itself into a ball with its tail wrapped tightly around it, as if it was trying to hide itself. A Cleffa had covered its face and was rocking back and forth. A Teddiursa glumly looked up for a second, and then stared back at the ground. A female Nidoran was softly crying, while a male one sat beside her, blankly staring off into space. Finally, he saw a Rattata was looking back at him with interest. The purple rat suddenly brightened and walked up with a cheerful, "Hi!" which seemed oddly out of place considering the circumstances.

"Um...hello?" Nanuluk replied, not quite sure how to respond.

"My name is Ethan! What's your name?" the Rattata enthusiastically asked.

"Nanuluk," he answered. The Electrike cocked his head in confusion. This Rattata acted like nothing was wrong- like they were talking in normal conditions instead of being held hostage. The happy rat seemed very out of place here.

"Cool!" Ethan replied. Pointing at the Teddiursa he said, "That's Brody. Those two over there," he gestured to the Nidoran, "are Carter and Nora. They're brother and sister." Then, he pointed to the Cleffa, "That's Lola. Oh, and the Minccino over there is Valerie." None of the named pokémon bothered to look up, with the exception of Valerie, who peeked out from among her tail for a moment and then quickly covered herself back up again. Ethan shrugged, "Guess I'm the one who really talks much around here."

"Where are we?" Nanuluk asked. Desperately hoping to find some way to escape, he scanned around the room for anything he hadn't noticed before.

The Rattata stared at him for a moment. "In a mountain," he answered.

"I think he already knows that, dork!" Brody snorted.

"Well, what was I supposed to say?" Ethan snapped defensively. "That's all I know!"

"That's all you know?" Nanuluk asked in dismay.

"Well, I guess that's not entirely true," the Rattata admitted. "That's not ALL I know, but I don't know what to call this place exactly."

"Ok, I guess that doesn't matter," replied a flustered Nanuluk. "Just...just tell me everything you know about this place."

"Hmm...where to start?" Ethan asked thoughtfully, scratching his chin. Then, the Rattata began to carefully explain everything he knew about the Steel Searchers to the best of his knowledge, giving detail on what they did and what the captured pokémon were expected to do.

"So that's what she meant," Nanuluk quietly said to himself.

"Who?" asked Ethan.

"Her," the Electrike answered pointing to the Zangoose. "She said something about running low."

"Oh, that's Shuriken," replied Ethan in a quieter voice. "She's pretty much a guard around here, and no one ever gets past her." The Rattata looked around the room. "There usually is a lot more of us, but lately...let's just say a lot of things have been going wrong in the mines."

Nanuluk felt a shiver ripple through his fur at the last comment. "I have to get out of here!" he yelped.

"Don't we all?" huffed Brody. "But let's face it, we're gonna be stuck in this rotten place FOREVER!" The Teddiursa angrily slammed his fist on the ground.

"Nothing on earth lasts forever," Ethan said in response. The Rattata looked as if the words meant more to him than he was letting on.

"Has anyone escaped here...ever?" asked Nanuluk.

"No, but they've tried though," answered Ethan. "They've always been caught in the end. A couple tried to fight even their way out, but steel types are too hard to fight against. Some thought fighting Shuriken would be easier, but they were wrong...bad wrong."

"Alright lowlifes!" an unfamiliar voice snarled. "It's time for you to work!" Nanuluk shrunk in terror as a horrific looking Linoone entered the room. It was wearing some kind of steel armor. Curved spikes protruded from the metal covering its of metal covered it's hind legs. It's claws were reinforced with retractable steel. The parts of its body that wasn't covered in metal were engulfed with hideous scars. Three long scratch marks ran across it's left eye, which was a solid, milky-white color.

The other eye scanned them over. "You!" he pointed at Ethan, "And the new meat are coming with me!" Nanuluk glanced at Ethan, who gave a tiny nod in response. The Electrike shakily followed the two pokémon out. Once they had left the room, the Linoone brought up the rear. "Don't even think of running off," he threatened. "Unless of course," he broke off with a chuckle, "you want an eye like mine!"

The rest of the walk was in silence. Nanuluk's mind whirled with confusion as he tried to remember all of the routes and turns they took, but it soon became a jumbled mass of information. "Stop!" the Linoone suddenly commanded. "Icy rocks. Go get them," he ordered. Ethan nodded and went into a cavern. Nanuluk quickly went after him.

The ground instantly felt much colder. They were at the top of the cavern, a long spiraling walkway led down to the bottom. The cave oddly glistened with dim blue light which the Electrike might have found pretty, if he wasn't scared out of his mind. After a while, he noticed that the Linoone wasn't following them any longer. "He's not coming with us?" he asked in disbelief.

"No, Axel usually doesn't come down with us," Ethan answered. "None of them do. They only send us in places they don't think is safe enough for them," the Rattata curled his lip in disgust. "Which reminds me, if the air smells funny to you, please tell me. Your nose probably can smell better than mine can, and I really don't feel like breathing in toxic fumes today. I don't think there's any down here, but you can never be too sure."

"Got it," Nanuluk swallowed hard. Although, he did feel a little better knowing that a creepy pokémon wasn't breathing down his back anymore. The two made there way to the bottom of the walkway.

Ethan scampered over to a rocky wall. "Up there!" he pointed to a glittering patch of rock. "I'll climb up and throw them to you."

"Ok," Nanuluk replied. The Rattata nimbly jumped up the rocks, and was soon up to where he wanted to be. He tugged at the shining rocks and pulled one from the wall. Then, Ethan tossed the icy rock down to Nanuluk. After catching it, the Electrike felt it over with his paws. The shards of ice were even colder than the freezing floor.

"Here's another one!" Ethan happily called out. Soon they had a decent sized pile between the two of them. "Ok, I think that should do it," said Ethan peering down. Then the Rattata leapt down with a tiny thud. "Let's hurry up and get these up there," said the Rattata. Nanuluk nodded in agreement.

Nanuluk sighed. He was the only one still awake in the tiny room. Ethan lay stretched out beside him, gently snoring. The Rattata had been talking until he finally wore himself out of exhaustion. They had done a lot more jobs, and Ethan chattered nonstop the whole time. The optimistic rat's happiness was contagious, almost numbing his fear away, almost.

Now, the Rattata was asleep, and all of his fear had returned along with a fierce homesickness. He kept trying to believe that this was all a dream...that he would wake up and everything would go away. But there was no denying it now, this was no dream. Sadly, he glanced up at the ceiling; he wouldn't see the stars tonight. He always could back home. 'Home. That's where the stars are...where my mother and father are...where Thunder Strike is...where I wish I was.'

A part of him still wanted to believe that he would be found. That they would come and take him back, but they didn't know where he was. There wasn't even a scent trail to follow.

Nanuluk looked back at Ethan. How did he do it? How could he always stay so happy, even when the world was so terrible to him? The Electrike sighed again and laid his head between his paws.

He awoke to a paw prodding his side. Blinking his eyes open, he saw Ethan poking him. He didn't even remember falling asleep. "Wakey wakey!" Ethan sang.

Nanuluk stood up with a groan and shook his fur out. He felt like he hadn't slept at all. "It's best if we're already awake before they come to get us," Ethan explained.

"When's breakfast?" the Electrike asked only half awake.

"Sorry, we don't get any. They say appetite will make us work harder. But we get lunch, though!" piped Ethan.

"Just lunch?" Nanuluk whined.

"Sometimes there is enough to save for later. But yeah, we pretty much just get lunch," Ethan finished.

Suddenly Axel entered the room. "Let's go, the day isn't going to wait for us to start," he huffed. Then the Linoone turned away and walked off. Nanuluk assumed that he had meant for him and Ethan to follow him again. As they followed him, Nanuluk was surprised that they were heading towards the mountain entrance. 'What's going on?' The sun shone brightly outside, it was almost blinding after spending so long in the dark. A tiny spark of hope flared up inside of him. 'Are we leaving?'

The Linoone walked outside and took a left turn. Ethan strolled out next with Nanuluk close behind him. The sunshine warmed his fur in a blissful way, better than it had felt in his life. 'I've never noticed just how good the sun felt, before.'

Nanuluk felt his heart sink as Axel stopped in front of a gaping hole in the mountain. "Get star pieces and anything else valuable," the Linoone ordered. Ethan faltered at the entrance for a second before going in, which sent a wave of unease over Nanuluk. As he peered in the dark interior, an ominous sense of foreboding crept over him. 'This place feels different somehow.' This mine was much darker than the other mines they had seen. Usually some kind of noise could be heard in the mines, whether it was dripping water or creaking objects. Yet, this one remained completely silent, as if it were a predator silently awaiting its prey.

Nanuluk's fur spiked up as he entered, all of his instincts screaming for him to run away. 'I wish I could!' Ahead of him, Ethan seemed to be a bit on edge too. "Ok, we have to be really careful here," the Rattata broke the silence. "This place can be dangerous. Just follow after me."

"Right," the Electrike answered. The two walked on until the came to a roughly built, wooden bridge. Wondering if he would be able to see the bottom, Nanuluk sent some sparks down in the deep crevice. With the little bit of lighting, he could see the black, hideously large space of nothingness that seemed to stretch on forever. No one could survive a fall into it.

Ethan carefully surveyed the bridge. "I think it'll hold us," the Rattata ventured, "but we should go one at a time." Then, Ethan slowly began to walk across the bridge. When he was half-way across, he stopped and started jumping up and down.

"ETHAN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" yelled Nanuluk. "DO YOU WANT TO FALL DOWN?"

"I'm testing it," Ethan explained. "If it'll hold me jumping up and down, it'll hold you walking across it." Then, the Rattata merrily skipped across the bridge. "Okay! Your turn!"

"Next time warn somebody before plan on giving them a heart attack," grumbled Nanuluk as he crossed the bridge.

"No promises!" Ethan chirped. After a while, they stopped at a particularly bumpy wall. "You can usually dig out star pieces here," Ethan stated. Then, he set to work digging on the wall.

Nanuluk scraped against the wall, surprised by how easy it gave away. He felt something hard tumble down and hit the ground. Using his paw, he snatched from the ground and felt it over. It looked kind of like a star. Holding it up, he asked, "Is this a star piece?"

Ethan looked up from his digging . "Yup! Let's find more!" After collecting a decent sized pile of star pieces and a Dusk Stone, they set back out. Just after they had finished crossing the bridge again, Nanuluk heard a faint rumbling noise. 'Huh' The Electrike looked around for the source of the noise. Ethan padded back to him. "Hey, why are you stopping?"

"Listen!" Nanuluk hissed. The rumbling noise became louder along with cracking sounds.

"ROCK FALL!" Ethan shrieked and ran away, deserting his loot. Nanuluk pelted after him, also leaving his things behind. The rumbling noise became deafening as rocks and boulders crashed to the ground. Desperately, he tried to dodge the debris that was falling all around him. The Electrike soon overtook Ethan, though he could still hear him running behind him. Nanuluk yelped in pain as a falling rock smacked onto his shoulder, tearing the skin as it bounced off.

'Light! I can see daylight!' The outside entrance was tauntingly close, yet so far away. A huge boulder shook above it with angry sounding creaking. "We're not going to make it!" he yelped in despair.

"Don't give up!" Ethan insisted. "JUST KEEP RUNNING!" Nanuluk tore for the entrance, begging his legs to go faster. He gave a desperate leap for the entrance, and white, blinding light engulfed him. Closing his eyes against the glare, he felt himself fall and slam onto the ground. He heard a startled squeak, and then the world seemed to lurch beneath him with an intense racket that sent his head reeling.

When the ringing in his head finally stopped, he opened his eyes. Blinking, he sat up and looked around. He was outside. 'Where's Ethan? He was right behind me!' The Electrike looked back at the entrance. It was completely sealed off by the huge boulder. 'No...he couldn't be...' "Ethan?" he breathed.

Nanuluk approached the blocked entrance. "ETHAN!" he yelled. The Electrike pricked his ears and listened for a response. Tiny movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Looking down at the ground, he watched a small trickle of red seep out from underneath the boulder. It moved very slowly along the ground, staining the ground in its wake. Nanuluk took a horrified step back, his blood turning to ice. 'NO!'

Everything blurred as his eyes watered. Hot tears slid down his face as Nanuluk squeezed his eyes shut. 'Why Ethan? Of everybody here, why did he have to be the one to die? Why couldn't a bad pokémon have died instead?' Ethan...who was always so ridiculously happy and optimistic...the one who always tried to cheer him up...the only thing good about this wretched place...was gone. The Rattata's nonstop chattering would never be heard, again. 'And the last time he ever said anything...was to encourage me. I won't ever be able to tell him what that means to me.' "Nothing...on...earth...lasts...forever, Ethans words echoed in Nanuluk's mind.

Axel gave an angry snarl. "WASTE! ALL OF IT A COMPLETE WASTE!" the Linoone ranted. "All of those lovely star pieces...GONE! A good mine...COLLAPSED! And on top of that, the stupid rat had to go and get himself bashed in!"

The fur on Nanuluk's neck rose, his body shaking uncontrollably. "How DARE you? HOW DARE YOU?! This...is all...YOUR FAULT!"

The Electrike flung himself at the Linoone with a howl of pure rage. He sank his fangs into the right paw and felt his teeth pierce through the skin. Axel gave a shocked howl of pain, and then hurled the Electrike against the mountain. His previous injury shrieked in agony as it collided with the rough mountain exterior, and Nanuluk landed on the ground with a thud. His shoulder felt warm and sticky, but the Electrike was too dazed to look.

Axel angrily starred at his bloody paw. A savage light shone in the Linoone's seeing eye, and it narrowed until it was only a slit. The long metal claws unsheathed, glinting in the sunlight. "Fool!" the metal wearing Linoone icily hissed. "Did you really think that a little scrap of fur like you could take me? It's been an awfully long time since I've got to use these claws on a mangy brat. Now...let me show you...just what I can do with them!" Axel stalked towards him with deliberate slowness. Nanuluk wanted to run away, but tiredness had finally taken its toll on him, and he was unable to move.

Up until this point, Nanuluk had lost all fear of the Linoone. He didn't want to be afraid of him now, but it's hard to be brave when you know that metal claws are fixing to rip your flesh open. The Electrike took in the cruel, jagged claws and wished that it would be quick. 'So I really am going to die this time.' The Electrike watched the Linoone come closer and closer. He did not want this to be the last thing he saw before he died. Nanuluk looked around for something else to look at. His eyes fixed upon the sky. It had a stunningly blue hue with fluffy white clouds lazily floating by. Ironically beautiful for such a tragic day. 'I wonder if that's where I'll be soon. Or will I go all the way up to the stars?' So the Electrike watched the clouds and waited for his death.


	10. Chapter 10

**Jade's view**

Jade sifted through her medical supplies. She ignored most of the status healing berries, doubting that she would really need them for this battle. Although, the Leafeon set aside a few Lum berries just in case she needed to use them. Looking through her seeds, she decided to take a pile of Health and Sleep seeds. Her injury binding supplies were obviously needed, so she grabbed a pile of moss, leaves, and vine. Now, all that was needed was something to fight off infection and speed up the healing process. 'Cottonwood sap would do all of that and more, but I'm completely out if it.' The Leafeon peered out of her storage room and looked toward's the outside entrance. The beginning light of dawn was slowly brightening the dusky, forest world. 'It's still pretty early. Maybe I'll have enough time to collect some if I hurry.'

Jade glanced over at a tan, single strapped bag. It was the only bag she owned, and she used it for carrying all her medical supplies. The Leafeon quickly filled its pockets with all of her selected items, and looped the bag's strap around her neck. Then, the Leafeon set off at a brisk pace. She knew exactly where to find cottonwood trees, but it would be slightly difficult to find them because of the lack of light.

Jade walked through the forest, casting glances up at the trees. 'Okay, there is a huge stretch of moss growing right before you get to the cottonwoods, so I should try to feel for that.' The sunlight increased, pale pink light indicating where the sun would rise. The Leafeon suddenly found herself on a huge patch of moss. Peering around, she noticed ridged, heart shaped leaves quivering above the surrounding trees. She weaved through the other trees and strode up to the tree. Along with the heart shaped leaves, its towering height and sweet smell were tell tale signs of a cottonwood tree.

Jade looked down at several budded cottonwood branches scattered along the ground. The buds were swollen with the sweet smelling sap, a few even glistened in it. She easily picked off the largest and most sap filled buds from off the fallen

branches. Eventually, her bag was bulging with the buds. Satisfied, she closed the bag's flap and made her way back. By the time she returned, everyone planing to take on the Steel Searchers was waiting outside.

"Sorry, I had to get some last minute preparations in," she explained.

"Don't worry about it," Kuro told her. "We just got out here."

Suddenly, a Mightyena crashed through the trees. Skidding, it came to a jarring stop. Turning to Kuro, the Mightyena dipped its gray and black head. "The Sneasel we told you about is on our territory. Alkina thought you would like to know," he addressed.

"Thank you for telling us," Kuro replied. "Would you mind showing us where he is?"he asked. The Mightyena nodded in response.

"Well that was convenient," Giro remarked. "Him showing up over there at the same time we plan to take on the Steel Searchers and all."

"Lucky coincidence I guess," Dakoto added with a shrug. At this point, the group of pokémon set out of the camp. When they finally reached the edge of their territory, they found several members of the Thunder Strike Band and the Desert Tribe waiting by the border. It looked as if the most able fighters were sent. Jade was surprised to see that even Strident, the leader of the Thunder Strike Band, was there. 'Wow, it's like they sent their whole group.'

The Mightyena stared at the two groups of pokémon. "I'm guessing that you're all coming to fight as well?"he asked glancing around. The others nodded, determination glinting in their eyes. "Well, okay then. I guess I'll show you guys around, too." He took the lead and trotted into the Dark Moon Pack territory. The trees grew more thickly here, with a huge amount of them being pine trees.

'More pokémon showed up than I expected, but since I packed extras there should be plenty to go around. Hmm...I feel like I'm low on something. Maybe I should have packed more injury binding supplies. But surely there will be enough growing around me when we get there.' A voice interrupted the Leafeon's train of thought. Jade turned to see Soaren looking at her expectantly. "Sorry, did you say something?"she asked.

"Yes," the Jolteon answered. "I asked if it also feels weird to you to be on someone else's territory like this."

"Um yeah...I guess it does feel a little weird," she replied. "But I haven't really noticed it until now at least."

"I'm surprised that they agreed to do this much," Giro put in with a low voice. "The Dark Moon Pack are usually way more elusive." Suddenly, the pokémon up ahead stopped.

Curious, Jade peered around them and saw a couple of Mightyena standing there along with a Sneasel. The Sneasel was wearing a brown fedora with a black cape tied around its neck and was holding two large, brown suitcases. It looked uncomfortable at the sight of so many pokémon before it. The Mightyena gestured at it, "This is Fiasco, the sales Sneasel."

"Ok Fiasco, we just want to ask you a question," Kuro told the Sneasel.

"L-look! I know what this is all about!" replied Fiasco in a panicked voice. "And I'm telling you I didn't know anything about this kidnapping kids stuff, I swear! You can't shut my sales business down! I was just a victim of circumstance, you see! Honestly, I didn't know or I would never have even considered buying anything from those thugs!"

"Relax, we just want to know where to find the Steel Searchers Association," Kuro assured him.

Fiasco looked back like he didn't quite believe what he was hearing. "Really? That's it?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes, that's all. Unless you know something else that we should know," Kuro answered with just a tiny hint of a threat.

"No, really I don't!" the Sneasel started. "I mean...the Steel Searchers have such a high reputation, ya know? Really popular, too. They've always been so friendly, and they've been known to give a lot of good deals. I've never even seen a child on the property, although I guess they could hide them in the caves and stuff if they wanted to."

"So you'll have no problem showing us where to find them, right?" Kuro asked with a level look.

Fiasco glanced around at the groups of pokémon again. After a pause, he finally spoke, "Um... sure, just as long as nobody does anything rash."

"Well let's hurry up and go already!" Strident interrupted. "We may not have much time left!" The Manectric impatiently scraped the ground with his paw as if to emphasize his point.

This seemed to make Fiasco more unnerved. "Okay...its this way," the Sneasel gestured. "But remember, nothing rash!" he called over his shoulder as he lead the way.

By the time they finally reached the Steel Searchers territory, the dusky sky had long transformed into a beautiful blue shade of turquoise blue with white, fluffy looking clouds. They all stood on a high raised, tree crowded hill, looking down upon the heart of the Steel Searchers Association. Towering pines and long grassed formed a protective shield around the huge, dirt clearing. It seethed with the activity of working pokemon. Countless caves and tunnels cluttered around the right side, while a mountain lay on the left side.

"Ok, this is the Steel Searchers Association. And now, if you don't mind, I'm going to leave," Fiasco told the group of pokémon. With that said, the Sneasel scuttled away.

"So do we have a plan?" Strident asked looking around. "Because I doubt they'll tell us where they're keeping the children if we come barging in there, and they'd probably just deny it if we asked them about it. And with that many caves, it would take us too long to find them ourselves."

Jade wanted to slap her paw against her face. 'What where we thinking? Did any of us plan anything?' A Sandslash raised his paw. "We actually did come up with a plan," he announced. "Although, I'm not sure if it's the best one." He glanced around to see if anyone would object. "We were kind of thinking along the same lines that you said," the Sandslash gestured to Strident, "and we thought that it might be best if we tricked them at their own game. It's bound to be difficult to steal so many young, so we thought they might be more willing to buy them off." A small Sandshrew strode up. "We planned on pretending to sell Timothy here to them, and then following them to see where they take him. Once we find that information out, we can launch a surprise attack on the territory. Then once they're defeated, we'll know where to find the kids and take them home."

Kuro looked a bit skeptical. "I don't know...this is very risky. Even more so for Timothy than anyone else. Are you sure you're willing to risk this?"

"Well, we have to try something!" Strident growled. "Right now, this seems to be the best plan we've got, and we don't have the time to try to come up with a different one."

"Alright," Kuro finally conceded. "Just be careful."

Jade watched the Sandslash talk to a huge Aggron. The Sandshrew sat between them. 'So this must be Waru. He definitely looks like he possesses that dominant air of a boss.' She was too far away to hear exactly what they were saying. The Leafeon, as well as the other groups of pokémon, was hidden among the tall grass and trees that bordered the Steel Searchers Association. Each of them ready to spring out of their cover. Eventually, the Sandslash and the Aggron walked off with the Sandshrew. Everyone tensely awaited their return.

It felt like hours had passed before the two pokémon finally returned in sight...without Timothy. The two pokémon continued to talk. Then, Jade noticed the Sandslash slap its tail onto the ground three times.

'The signal!' The awaiting pokémon exploded out of the forest and charged into the dirt clearing, while Jade, remaining concealed in the tall grass, circled around the clearing. The united group of pokémon viciously attacked anyone they found outside. They easily outnumbered their enemies; and with the element of surprise, they had no trouble taking on their shocked foes.

Jade watched the ongoing battle from her cover with a worried frown. 'Somehow this feels like we're winning this fight...way too easily.' As if on cue, Waru gave an enraged yell. Suddenly, various steel type pokémon poured from out of the caves and mountain. Hordes of Lairon, Excavalier, Bisharp, Scizor, and Mawile flooded the Clearing. A gigantic Steelix charged out of a cave giving a deafening roar with two Metagross following after it. An Excadrill emerged from a smoke billowing cave, wielding two long metal swords. Swarms of Skarmory darted through the sky with high pitched, metallic screeching. Jade watched in horror as the chaos unfolded before her. Unfazed, the Manectric hurled themselves at their attackers with angry howls, while the Sandslash struck out with their long claws, and the Eons used their strongest special attacks.

A howl of pain reached Jade's ears. It was a faint whisper compared to the racket around her. The Leafeon skimmed over the clearing, unable to tell who it had came from. She continued to circle the clearing, trying to pinpoint where the sound came from. Movement to her right side caught her attention. The Leafeon glanced over at the mountain.

A metal armored Linoone was slowly treading towards a bleary looking Electrike with its long, jagged, metallic claws outstretched. The Electrike made no attempt to move. It just sadly watched the Linoone come closer, and then gazed up into the sky with its eyes full of defeat. 'NO! Don't give up! Run away! Do something! Why don't you just run?'

The Linoone stopped in front of the Electrike and glowered down at it. Jade desperately looked around. 'Is no one else seeing this?!' The metal clad monster raised his hideous claws high into the air, sunlight glinting on the tips. Then, the armored Linoone gave a pained yowl as Jade slammed a Leaf Blade against the back of his head. He stumbled with the impact and clasped his paws over his head. Since the Linoone was momentarily distracted, Jade stole a quick glance at the Electrike. It stared back at her with big, shocked eyes, as if it couldn't believe what it was seeing.

A savage snarl broke into the air as the Linoone turned to face Jade. For the first time, Jade noticed the ancient scars that engulfed his body. His right eye was narrowed with hatred, while the other milky, white eye stared sightlessly ahead with three long slash marks running across it. He lunged towards the Leafeon with his metal claws outstretched. She narrowly dodged the jagged metal, hearing the wind whistle as it slashed the air. Jade tried to stay on its blind side, but the Linoone was extremely fast and nimble, and managed to keep her in sight. The Leafeon inwardly cursed herself for not practicing her battle techniques more often as the Linoone's frenzied, repeated jabs became closer to hitting her. The jagged claws surged towards her face and she ducked.

Suddenly the Linoone swiped out his metal clad leg and knocked the Leafeon from off her feet. Jade felt her back slam onto the ground. Before she could rise to her feet, the Linoone placed a foot on her chest, pinning her down to the ground. She bunched up her hind legs, and prepared to kick him off. "I really wouldn't do that if I were you," the Linoone crowed. He leaned closer, dangling his metal claws above her throat. "It's dangerous to slip when you're holding on to something really sharp." Jade froze, her mind going blank. "Well, it looks like I'm going to get a lot of use of my claws today," the Linoone smirked. "But it has been a while since I got to use them properly. So I hope I'm not too rusty; it usually gets pretty messy when I am."

Suddenly, a snarling blue and yellow blur barreled into the Linoone, whisking him off of Jade. The Leafeon immediately jumped to her paws. Turning, she watched a growling Manectric repeatedly slam the Linoone against the ground. Finally, it reared up on its hind legs and gave him a final slam. The Linoone rolled away with the impact. "Leave my son ALONE, you stinking fleabag!" the Manectric roared.

"M-Mother?" the Electrike asked in disbelief. "You're really here?"

The Manectric raced over to him and covered him in licks."YES!YES!YES! Oh Nanuluk, I'm so sorry! My poor baby, this is all my fault! I should have been watching you! I'm never going to let this happen again, I promise!"

Jade took her eyes off the pair and watched the Linoone. He had picked himself up, and an twisted sort of light shone in his eyes. He glared at the Manectric, then sprang towards her with a yell. "YOU BONY HAG!" he screeched.

The Manectric met his advance with bared fangs. She twisted her head and caught his throat between her teeth. Snarling, she savagely shook him back and forth. Then dropped his lifeless, bloodied body to the ground. "Mangy weasel," she retaliated at the dead Linoone.

Jade blinked and watched the Manectric turn back to her son. The Manectric's enraged eyes transformed into warm, gentle ones. She pulled the Electrike close and wrapped her body protectively around him. "I'm sorry...so so sorry," the mother whined. Jade turned and ran back towards the fight. The Electrike was safe, the mother would make sure of that. But the sounds of fighting still raged heavily on, and her job was far from over.


	11. Chapter 11

**Kuro's view**

Kuro ducked as an Escavalier jabbed its red-striped, lance-like arms towards his face. He heard the wind swoosh as the assault barely missed him. Dark purple orbs formed at the Umbreon's mouth and then he released the Shadow Ball attack. The dark balls of energy hit their target, and the Escavalier was knocked back a few paces with the impact. Suddenly, the Escavalier's arms glowed white and crossed diagonally into the shape of an X. Kuro quickly dodged to the side as the Escavalier charged with an X-Scissor. The tips of the glowing lances managed to graze the Umbreon's flank. Immediately, the Escavalier used Bug Buzz. The red waves hummed from its mouth, and Kuro felt himself grow weaker.

'So you think using super effective moves is all that it takes to take down a leader? If only it were that simple... but if that's the way you want to go, then it's fine with me. We'll just see how you deal with this!' Kuro retaliated with Confuse Ray on the Escavalier. The yellow ball of light rapidly circled the Escavalier several times and finally struck it. As a result, the Escavalier's eyes crossed and it violently swayed back and forth. The Escavalier wildly swung its arms in confusion, accidentally hitting a nearby Mawile on the head.

"Watch where you're swinging those things!" the Mawile growled. The Escavalier gave it a blank stare.

"CHARIZARD!" the Escavalier yelled and proceeded to viscously whack the Mawile's head. Leaving the Escavalier to clobber the Mawile, Kuro turned to watch how his packmates were fairing. Giro was bravely holding back a ginormous Steelix with a Hydro Pump. Soaren was racing among the crowd, shooting Thunderbolts up at the overhead Skarmory. Dakoto was completely surrounded by a group of Lairon and a Metagross. The Flareon repeatedly fired Flamethrowers, causing the crowding pokémon to hesitate to attack.

An agonized screech caught Kuro's attention. He looked to see a Sandslash knocked back from the strike of the sword-wielding Excadrill. It lay curling up with pain. The Excadrill treaded towards it, raising his two long swords menacingly. Kuro raced to intercept it and threw himself between the two. Using Iron Tail, the Umbreon managed to knock one of the swords out of the Excadrill's grasp. The fallen sword spun and slid out of sight.

The Excadrill narrowed its eyes and gripped the remaining sword more tightly. With a quick flash, the blade was swung forward. Kuro leaped into the air and managed to avoid the slicing sword. His paws had only just hit the ground when the sword was once more slung at him. The Umbreon managed to hit the blade back with another Iron Tail, but the sword stayed in its owner's tightened grip. As the sword was repeatedly swung at the black pelted pokémon, Kuro found that he couldn't stop dodging or hitting the sword back long enough to use his other attacks.

After another high jump, Kuro's paws skidded on some small stones and the Umbreon fell onto the dirt. Quickly scrambling to his paws, he made a desperate attempt to jump out of the path of the sword that was bearing down on him. He flinched as he felt the sword nick his back.

Mercilessly, the Excadrill drew back his sword once more. Suddenly, a yellowish-brown blur cannoned onto the Excadrill's back with an angry cry. Digging its claws into the shoulders, a Sandslash furiously scraped its free claws down the Excadrill's back. Snarling in pain, the Excadrill twisted and tried in vain to stab the clinging Sandslash with his sword.

Seeing his chance, Kuro released another Confuse Ray. The Excadrill took no notice of the attack until it struck him. After lurching around in confusion, the Excadrill clumsily stumbled and fell to the ground. The Sandslash used Slash on the fallen Excadrill's head, knocking it out cold.

Suddenly the earth shook as something heavy slammed into the ground. Kuro looked up to the Steelix lying unconscious. Giro stood before it, breathing heavily. Out of nowhere, a Scizor streaked up and yanked the Vaporeon back by the tail. Giro fell to the ground and looked up with a shocked face. A Bisharp dealt the blue pokémon a swift kick to the gut, and then Kuro could no longer see him for the swarm of pokémon that closed in on the Vaporeon. Outraged, the Umbreon dashed to aide his fallen packmate.

Movement surged in the corner of his eye. Kuro turned his head in time to see a Zangoose lunging towards him, it's long claws unsheathed and outstretched. The black pelted pokémon crouched down low, and the Zangoose soared past him. Sliding onto the ground, the Zangoose immediately whirled around. Bunching its muscles, it sprang forward with a furious hiss. His tail glowing white, Kuro swung an Iron Tail at the attacking Zangoose. The Zangoose was knocked back with the blow, but quickly was up on her paws. Reaching into her fur, she pulled out small jagged pieces of metal and threw them at the Umbreon. Kuro's pelt pricked with a little pain as they hurled past him, but they were more annoying than they were painful. The Umbreon shut his eyes to avoid them being scraped by the passing metal.

A weight thumped onto his back, and then he felt a sharp pain as fangs pierced the skin in his neck. Opening his eyes and twisting, Kuro saw the Zangoose clinging to his back. He wildly jerked and bucked, trying to throw her off. In response, the Zangoose dug into his flesh with her claws. His injuries were warm and wet which he assumed to be blood, but he didn't have time to check. After throwing himself onto the ground, he started rolling. The Zangoose lost her grip and tumbled off with a tuft of black fur still in her teeth.

Kuro leaped back up to his paws, but the Zangoose was already back on her feet. The white and red pokémon lunged forward with one paw outstretched to rake his face. Quickly twisting his head, Kuro managed to catch hold of her arm in his jaws. After rearing up on his hind legs, he threw her to the side. The Zangoose's body hit the ground while her arm still remain locked in Kuro's teeth. She gave a loud screech of pain. The Umbreon looked down and noticed that her arm looked misshapen and out of place.

Realizing that he had pulled her arm out of socket, he released his hold on her arm. Immediately, the Zangoose jumped back to her feet. Gingerly holding her injured arm with her free paw, she stared down at it and then glowered back at Kuro. After bearing her fangs in a snarl full of contempt and hate, she turned and fled, disappearing into a mass of fighting pokémon.

Satisfied that she was gone, Kuro turned back to see how Giro was doing. He caught a few glimpses of the blue furred pokémon amidst the horde of steel types, and a flash of yellow and electricity hinted that Soaren had joined the fray as well. A nearby Scizor lay unconscious, tiny sparks emitting from its body.

Suddenly, Kuro found Dakoto standing beside him. "There's too many of them," the Flareon panted. "And not enough of us. I don't see how we're going to win this. How are we going to beat all of them?"

Kuro looked around the clearing. He could hardly see his allies through the swarms of steel types. Even with three groups of united pokémon, they were still hopelessly outnumbered. "We're not," Kuro calmly answered. "It's impossible for us to take all of them on." Dakoto looked at Kuro with a shocked look. "But we don't have to take on all of them to win. All who we really need to defeat is Waru. Without a leader to follow, they'll panic and won't have a reason to fight anymore."

"And if they don't?" Dakoto prompted.

"We'll cross that path when we get to it," Kuro grimly stated. Then, he scanned the clearing for any signs of the Steel Searchers' leader. Finally, he spotted the Aggron dueling with Strident. The Manectric was covered with deep, long, bleeding gashes, but was still fighting with savage fierceness. Waru looked in much better shape, lashing out with his jagged claws and solid tail. Kuro charged forward, hearing Dakoto following after him.

As he neared the two pokémon, Kuro fired dark purple Shadow Balls at the Aggron, while Dakoto released a Flamethrower. Waru whirled around after the special attacks hit his back, then swung his heavy tail towards them with a crack. Kuro jumped up to avoid the swinging tail, while Dakoto escaped being hit by using Dig. The Aggron warily watched the ground, trying to pinpoint where Dakoto might pop up. 'We've got to get him distracted so Dakoto can get a good hit. A super effective move would be great right now!'

Seeing his chance, Strident shocked Waru with Discharge. Kuro decided to go with Confuse Ray, hoping that it and the added electricity would take Waru's mind off of dodging Dakoto's attack. Unlike the previous foes, Waru caught sight of the Confuse Ray and dodged before it hit him. Then, Dakoto erupted from the ground, directly under the Aggron. Waru fell back with the blow, but immediately picked himself on the ground. Despite just being hit with a super effective direct hit, the Aggron still looked healthy enough to dish out a good fight.

Lunging towards Dakoto, Waru spun and whipped his powerful tail. The Flareon was hit backwards, tumbling on the ground. Snarling, Kuro released another Shadow Ball. Pain seared through Kuro's foreleg as the Aggron's claws slashed across it. Scooping up a pawfull of dirt, the Umbreon threw it into the Aggron's face. Temporarily blinded, Waru rubbed his eyes in attempt to get the dirt out.

Quickly, Kuro used Confuse Ray again. This time the bright, yellow orb struck the struggling Aggron. Strident darted in and bit Waru with a Thunder Fang. The armored steel type swung his claws to strike the Manectric, but missed his target and harmlessly sliced through the air. 'Don't do anything foolish. He may be confused, but he's still a dangerous opponent!'

Dakoto was back on his paws, but no longer attacking the Aggron. Instead, he was holding back a Mawile and Bisharp that had come to assist their leader. The Flareon's fire was keeping them at bay, but they still tried to slip past him.

With Dakoto busy, it left only Strident and Kuro to fight Waru who, despite being confused, was a difficult adversary. Kuro couldn't tell who the Aggron was aiming for, but he managed to knock over Strident with his powerful tail. Kuro used Bite on Waru's leg to divert the Aggron's attention away from the fallen Manectric. Waru turned to glare at the Umbreon, and then Kuro realized that the confusion had worn off. He jumped back in barely enough time to avoid the strike from the Aggron's claws.

Suddenly, a powerful force of water shot out and engulfed Waru, causing the Aggron to yell in surprise. Kuro turned to see Giro using Hydro Pump. The Vaporeon looked tired and beat up, but the light of battle still shone bright in his eyes. Turning back to Waru, he saw Strident electrocuting the large steel type. Hoping that a combination of three moves would deal a massive amount of damage, Kuro bombarded the Aggron with more Shadow Balls.

"RETREAT!" Waru roared. After yelling the command, the Aggron ran off, heading for the forest. After he disappeared into the thick forestry, the battle stilled. The steel types stood around in mute shock, until a few scrambled out of the clearing. Then, all at once, the remaining steel types desperately fled out of the clearing.

Kuro gazed around the wrecked clearing. The booths lay smashed on the ground, the merchandise and trinkets that they had been holding were scattered. Jade was darting back and forth among the injured pokémon, treating their wounds. He was glad to see that none of the injuries look life-threatening, but not very surprised. Although the Steel Searchers vastly outnumbered them, very few had any impressive fighting skills. Their large numbers was probably the only thing that kept the battle going as long as it did.

Kuro let out a depressed sigh. 'If only we had gotten here sooner. We could have stopped this.' The Umbreon watched as two Sandslash easily scooped up dirt, forming a small hole in the ground. They were at a shaded part of the clearing, close to the mountain. A third solemnly approached the whole, concealing a tiny, battered body in its claws. Probably trying to hide the gruesome sight from the nearby Electrike who was intently watching. Kuro closed his eyes shut at the memory of seeing the lifeless, Rattata finally being pulled out from underneath the boulder that had crushed him to death. They had managed to hide the horrifying scene from Nanuluk, but he couldn't be convinced to stay away from the Rattata's burial.

Kuro glanced at the Electrike who was the reason they were able to come here. Nanuluk was quietly and respectively observing, keeping vigil for his friend in his own way. He didn't try to peek past the Sandslash to see as some of the other children a further distance away were trying to do. Kuro felt a twinge of pain. They had managed to save all of the other captive children, and they would soon be reunited with their families. All except for one, whose family would most likely never know where he was buried or when he had even died.

The Sandslash gently lowered the dead Rattata down into the whole, as if he were only sleeping and she didn't want to wake him up. 'I'm sorry. I hope you know that we would have been here earlier if we had only known. It's not fair for you to have died at such an early age, especially on the same day that you would have been saved. For that, I truly am sorry.' After a moment of silence, the Sandslash slowly pushed the dirt back into the hole, leaving a tiny mound in the dirt. After stepping back, everything went completely silent.

Finally, Nanuluk slowly stepped up to the mound. After wiping away a few stray tears with his paw, the Electrike carefully placed an icy rock at the head of the grave. "This was the first thing me and Ethan found together," he explained as if someone asked him. "I want him to have it."

"It's a very pretty rock," a Manectric put in.

"I'm sure he'll love it," Jade added. Other pokémon followed and gently voiced their approval.

Nanuluk slowly nodded. "Ethan," he began, looking at the dirt mound as if the Rattata himself was there listening. "I just want you want you to know that you've been a really good friend...no, a great friend. And I really wish that you had made it out with me..…I couldn't have made it out without you being there. You helped so much, and I couldn't help you when you needed it the most...I'm sorry," the Electrike's voice cracked and he paused for a few moments.

Kuro opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when he saw Nanuluk start to speak again. "But I'm going to find a way to make it up to you, somehow. I promise that I'll never quit looking until I find a way. And I hope that one day...I'll get to see you again." No one felt the need to add anything else.


	12. Chapter 12

**Person32100– Yes, that does make it sound less professional, doesn't it? To be honest, I completely forgot that I even put that there. ^^' I'll get to working on that. Thanks for your input!**

Soaren's view

Soaren watched a tiny, brown mouse scuffle among the leaves, unaware of the nearby Eevee hiding midst the thick fronds of fern. Bracken slowly crept forward, carefully stalking the prey creature. Soaren nodded, he was doing well so far.

For the past week, Soaren had been teaching Bracken how to hunt. The Eevee had finished all of his training, and now he was out on his first, actual hunt. Two weeks earlier, Bracken had learned to climb trees from Akira-which was during the same time as the Steel Searchers battle.

Suddenly, Bracken's hind paw snapped a stick lying on the ground. The mouse immediately scrambled away. Bracken hurled himself at the fleeing creature, but it was already lost among the thick forest overgrowth. "AARRGHH!" the Eevee growled with an impatient stomp. "Stupid stick!"

Soaren twitched his ear in amusement. "It's ok," the Jolteon called, "Not everybody gets it on the first try. But you probably just scared all the prey off in this area, so we should probably head somewhere else. Oh, and you might want to consider watching for sticks from now on."

Bracken flattened his ears. "Thanks for telling me that," he sarcastically grumbled. "AFTER I've already stepped on one!"

'So you want to play it that way, do you?' Suppressing an amused grin, Soaren tilted his head to the side. "That's a lot, coming from the same pokémon who forgot to tell me about a certain meeting I was supposed to attend until it was completely over."

Bracken blankly stared back at him, and then shrugged. "Well, nobody's perfect," the Eevee finally replied.

A light brown songbird scratched at the ground with its skinny, grey, black-taloned foot. Its beady, black eyes intently watched the ground in search of worms. Suddenly, the shadows around it lengthened. Looking up, it saw a brown weight dropping down towards it with outstretched paws. The brown bird gave a panicked chirp and quickly fluttered its wings. It was scarcely off the ground before the bird was slammed back onto the ground. Then, jaws locked around the bird's neck and its life ended with a snap.

Bracken quickly shot up. "YEAH! I did it! I got one! I really caught one this time!" The Eevee proudly picked his catch and brought it over to Soaren. After setting it down, he asked, "What did I catch?"

Soaren looked down at the lifeless bird. "It's a baby Pidgey," he answered.

"WHAT?!" Bracken exclaimed. The Eevee jumped back, his face stricken with horror.

Soaren chuckled, "Take it easy! I was only kidding! It's just a sparrow, and a fully grown one, too."

Bracken narrowed his eyes and stuck out his tongue. "It's NOT funny! What did you do that for?" he scowled.

"Just giving you a taste of your own medicine," Soaren replied. "You did the same thing to me."

"What are you talking about?" Bracken snorted. "I NEVER did that to you!"

"Oh yes you did," Soaren quickly corrected him. "Remember that time when we were play-fighting and you pretended to be DEAD?"

"I was acting," Bracken justified himself. Grinning, he added, "And that WAS funny!"

"It wasn't back then," Soaren muttered. Sure, he could laugh at it now, but it was far from funny back then. He still remembered how terrible he had felt-the terrifying fear when Bracken didn't respond, the horror and guilt greater than anything he had ever felt before, and the immense grief. 'I thought I killed him.'

Bracken observed the Jolteon for a moment and then looked down at the sparrow. "Soooo...are we done?" the Eevee broke the silence.

"Well, I guess we could go hunt for one more," Soaren replied."But we don't want to catch too much because the others might have already hunted, and we don't need to waste prey."

"Awesome! Do I need to take this with me?" Bracken asked while prodding the sparrow with a paw.

"I would," Soaren answered. "You don't want anything else to get it." After Bracken collected his prey, the two set off. They headed for all of the places that Soaren usually found seething with prey, but strangely there was scarcely any. They finally resorted to going to a darker, more dense part of the forest. Soaren pushed back the thick growing fronds of fern, sighing at the loud rustling. 'With this much noise, the prey will get plenty of warning and run off long before we get to it!'

Soaren pushed through the undergrowth and found himself in a small clearing. Looking down, he saw the ground was churned up and covered with tracks. The fur rose on his neck as he saw that some of the tracks were bloodied. In some places, the ground was charred and deep claw marks scored into the dirt. A tuft of slightly pink tinted white fur was caught on the brambles. "Did you find anything?" Bracken suddenly asked.

Soaren jumped at his voice and turned around. Bracken really didn't need to see this. "Uh...no, I don't think there's any prey here," he stammered. "Hey, why don't we head back? It's starting to get late, and I doubt we'll see anything else."

Bracken stared back at Soaren. "Ok," he responded. Then, picked up his sparrow and started to trot off. Soaren padded after him, and cast one last glance behind him. He felt uneasy looking back; it didn't feel safe, and there was some ominous feeling of being watched at this place. 'There was definitely a bad struggle here. I'll have to come back later and check things out...'


	13. Chapter 13

**Haretta's view**

Haretta gingerly pushed through the dense undergrowth after Soaren. The Glaceon cringed as she brought her right paw down on something crunchy. Slowly lifting it up, she looked at the remains of a squashed, brown beetle on her paw pad. Grimacing, she quickly shook it off. 'Great, this stinking place is dark, crowded, AND has lots of dung beetles to step on. Wonderful. Soaren better have REALLY good reason for dragging me out all the way here or I'm gonna-'

"So what do you think?" Soaren asked. Haretta pushed past a final frond of fern and found herself standing beside the Jolteon in a small clearing. Chunks of earth was uprooted and black scorch marks streaked across the dirt. Long claw marks scarred the earth. The ground was also crossed with tracks, with most of them being bloodied.

"Uh...somebody went on a rampage?" Haretta guessed.

Soaren shrugged. "I dunno, but whatever caused this definitely doesn't belong here. Maybe we can find something if we look around."

"Got it," Haretta replied. Padding up to a dark red track, she examined it. It was a paw print, bigger than hers. It tapered at the end, and had three visible toes with tear shaped dots above them, suggesting that what ever made the tracks had claws. Another set of tracks were nearby; they were longer and appeared to be webbed. She looked at a different track and noticed that it also had claws, but was much larger than the previous ones and looked more reptilian.

The Glaceon glanced at the scorch marks and assumed that they must have come a dragon type, or at least a Charizard. Looking up, she noticed something stuck in the brambles. After walking over to it, she noticed it was tuft of white fur with a slight pink tint to it. She plucked it off of the thorns and sniffed it. The scent was vaguely familiar, but she couldn't remember where she scented it before. "When exactly did you find this place?" Haretta asked.

"Not to long ago," Soaren answered, looking up from a bush. "But Bracken was with me then, and I really didn't think that he needed to see this."

Haretta nodded. The lingering scents here weren't particularly strong, but they weren't stale yet, either. "Judging from the scents, I'd guess that this happened, yesterday," she called out.

Pushing through the undergrowth she scanned the ground. Something long and black caught her eye. She leaned forward to get a closer look at it, and seen that it was a torn piece of leather. The edges were jagged and frayed, so it looked like it had been slashed off of something. The blue furred pokemon looked around to see if she could spot anything else.

"Find anything?" Soaren asked behind her.

Haretta slowly turned around and looked him directly in the eye. "A boooodddddyyyy," she slowly hissed.

"Really?" Soaren yelped, his eyes dialating.

"No, Fuzz Brain! It's just a piece of leather." The Glaceon wagged it in front of his face. "See?"

Soaren scowled back at her, then stared at the strip of leather. "What's it doing here?"

Haretta shrugged. "How should I know?" Then, she looked around the clearing. "Well, whatever happened here is long over, and it's too late to do anything about it, now, other than using extra caution."

"Yeah, guess your right," Soaren replied. "We should probably be heading off, now."

The setting sun cast an orange glow around it, while the rest of the sky slowly darkened. Confused, Haretta looked around the hollow clearing. It was ominously silent and looked empty. 'Is anyone even here?' "It's really quiet," Soaren commented.

"They must be all out doing there own thing, but surely they left somebody to watch the hollow," Haretta put in.

Soaren raced over to the towering, partially hidden Lookout Rocks. "Nobody over here!" he called out.

"I'll check inside the cave," Haretta volunteered. The Glaceon peered inside the dark interior. No signs of life were inside. She glanced over to the small room on the left. 'Surely Jade must be in there! I can't imagine Kuro leaving the hollow unattended.' She walked inside of Jade's healing room, and was met with bitter-sweet scents of herbs and berries. However, Haretta was disappointed to find that the Leafon was not there. After leaving the room, she padded back outside.

Soaren stared back at her expectantly. Haretta shook her head. "It's completely empty. No one's here at all."

Soaren looked out into the forest. "That's weird. You don't think they went looking for us, do you?" he asked.

"I wouldn't think so," Haretta replied. "We weren't gone for that long."

"Well, they've got to come back soon. It'll be dark in just a matter of minutes," Soaren pointed out. He fell silent for a minute, and then stiffened. "You don't think something happened to them, do you?"

Haretta felt her pelt prickle uncomfortably. 'Oh Arctic winds, I hope not!' "Er...I'm sure everything's fine. I mean, it's probably something small...like one of those knuckleheads fell in the lake or Giro found something he just HAD to show them all...or something."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Soaren finally replied. Then, the Jolteon looked around the camp. "Well, at least it doesn't look like anything happened here."

"Yeah, there's always that," Haretta put in. Haretta sat down and fixed her gaze on the setting sun, until it sank out of sight behind the trees and the stars began to appear...


	14. Chapter 14

**Haretta's view**

Haretta gingerly pushed through the dense undergrowth after Soaren. The Glaceon cringed as she brought her right paw down on something crunchy. Slowly lifting it up, she looked at the remains of a squashed, brown beetle on her paw pad. Grimacing, she quickly shook it off. 'Great, this stinking place is dark, crowded, AND has lots of dung beetles to step on. Wonderful. Soaren better have REALLY good reason for dragging me out all the way here or I'm gonna–'

"So what do you think?" Soaren asked. Haretta pushed past a final frond of fern and found herself standing beside the Jolteon in a small clearing. Chunks of earth was uprooted and black scorch marks streaked across the dirt. Long claw marks scarred the earth. The ground was also crossed with tracks, with most of them being bloodied.

"Uh...somebody went on a rampage?" Haretta guessed.

Soaren shrugged. "I dunno, but whatever caused this definitely doesn't belong here. Maybe we can find something if we look around."

"Got it," Haretta replied. Padding up to a dark red track, she examined it. It was a paw print, bigger than hers. It tapered at the end, and had three visible toes with tear shaped dots above them, suggesting that what ever made the tracks had claws. Another set of tracks were nearby; they were longer and appeared to be webbed. She looked at a different track and noticed that it also had claws, but was much larger than the previous ones and looked more reptilian.

The Glaceon glanced at the scorch marks and assumed that they must have come a dragon type, or at least a Charizard. Looking up, she noticed something stuck in the brambles. After walking over to it, she noticed it was tuft of white fur with a slight pink tint to it. She plucked it off of the thorns and sniffed it. The scent was vaguely familiar, but she couldn't remember where she scented it before. "When exactly did you find this place?" Haretta asked.

"Not to long ago," Soaren answered, looking up from a bush. "But Bracken was with me then, and I really didn't think that he needed to see this."

Haretta nodded. The lingering scents here weren't particularly strong, but they weren't stale yet, either. "Judging from the scents, I'd guess that this happened, yesterday," she called out.

Pushing through the undergrowth she scanned the ground. Something long and black caught her eye. She leaned forward to get a closer look at it, and seen that it was a torn piece of leather. The edges were jagged and frayed, so it looked like it had been slashed off of something. The blue furred pokemon looked around to see if she could spot anything else.

"Find anything?" Soaren asked behind her.

Haretta slowly turned around and looked him directly in the eye. "A boooodddddyyyy," she slowly hissed.

"Really?" Soaren yelped, his eyes dialating.

"No, Fuzz Brain! It's just a piece of leather." The Glaceon wagged it in front of his face. "See?"

Soaren scowled back at her, then stared at the strip of leather. "What's it doing here?"

Haretta shrugged. "How should I know?" Then, she looked around the clearing. "Well, whatever happened here is long over, and it's too late to do anything about it now, other than using extra caution."

"Yeah, guess your right," Soaren replied. "We should probably be heading off, now."

The setting sun cast an orange glow around it, while the rest of the sky slowly darkened. Confused, Haretta looked around the hollow clearing. It was ominously silent and looked empty. 'Is anyone even here?' "It's really quiet," Soaren commented.

"They must be all out doing there own thing, but surely they left somebody to watch the hollow," Haretta put in.

Soaren raced over to the towering, partially hidden Lookout Rocks. "Nobody over here!" he called out.

"I'll check inside the cave," Haretta volunteered. The Glaceon peered inside the dark interior. No signs of life were inside. She glanced over to the small room on the left.

'Surely Jade must be in there! I can't imagine Kuro leaving the hollow unattended.' She walked inside of Jade's healing room, and was met with bitter-sweet scents of herbs and berries. However, Haretta was disappointed to find that the Leafon was not there. After leaving the room, she padded back outside.

Soaren stared back at her expectantly. Haretta shook her head. "It's completely empty. No one's here at all."

Soaren looked out into the forest. "That's weird. You don't think they went looking for us, do you?" he asked.

"I wouldn't think so," Haretta replied. "We weren't gone for that long."

"Well, they've got to come back soon. It'll be dark in just a matter of minutes," Soaren pointed out. He fell silent for a minute, and then stiffened. "You don't think something happened to them, do you?"

Haretta felt her pelt prickle uncomfortably. 'Oh Arctic winds, I hope not!' "Er...I'm sure everything's fine. I mean, it's probably something small...like one of those knuckleheads fell in the lake or Giro found something he just HAD to show them all...or something."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Soaren finally replied. Then, the Jolteon looked around the camp. "Well, at least it doesn't look like anything happened here."

"Yeah, there's always that," Haretta put in. Haretta sat down and fixed her gaze on the setting sun, until it sank out of sight behind the trees and the stars began to appear...


	15. Chapter 15

Akira's view

"Giro, you patrol the north end. Sierra, you can take the west side. That leaves Akira to take the east side, and me the south," Kuro ordered. The other three Eeveelutions nodded and dispersed out into the tall grassed meadow.

Long, emerald green blades of meadow grass brushed against Akira's fur. The grass had grown so long that it was impossible for her to see past it, unless she jumped. The Espeon briskly trotted though the thick growing grass, watching the ground for anything out of the ordinary.

A faint, aroma of an unfamiliar scent suddenly hit her nose. Stopping, she lowered her head and sniffed around the ground. With a jolt, she realized that she was smelling three different sets of scents, all going the same direction. They smelled relatively fresh, so the Espeon decided to follow them.

She tracked the scents down the field for several lengths. When she was a good distance from where she started, the Espeon heard yell from far behind her. Akira stiffened and listened closely, trying to determine if it was just her imagination. Soon, another alarmed yell joined the other. 'Something's wrong!' The Espeon doubled back as quick as she could. 'Hang on, I'm coming!'

Long, green stalks whipped against Akira's legs as she quickly raced through. Suddenly, a noise sounded off with a click. Something heavy landed on top of Akira, and the Espeon slammed into the ground with its weight. She immediately began thrashing, trying to shake whatever it was off. Her heart lurched as she realized that she was trapped in something resembling a Spinarak's web. 'A snare?! No...it can't be!'

Akira desperately tried to wrench herself up into a standing position. However, the metal net was too heavy for her to lift, and she was hopelessly stuck pinned to the ground. Running out of ideas, she began chewing against the wire, grinding her teeth so hard that her gums began to hurt.

Laughter broke out, and footsteps came closer and closer. Akira's blood ran cold and she stopped chewing, too scared to move. 'This...I've lived this before. Once, in the dream world, and now...' "Told you I scented one going this way!" a voice smugly called out. "But noooo, you said that there was no way anything would be back here! Guess I proved you wrong, eh?"

"Oh, would you just shut up already?" another voice curtly replied. "Can't even think straight with all your yapping."

Suddenly, a Granbull and a Golduck pushed out from the thick grass. The Granbull was grinning broadly, while the Golduck looked on with an annoyed expression. "Come on, let's get this over with," he huffed. The blue duck reached forward with his webbed hand, and grasped two edges of the net and pulled them together.

Anger filled Akira, and she growled back at him. "Let me OUT of here!" she demanded.

The Golduck ignored her, refusing to even acknowledge her existence. The Granbull headed towards the other side of the net, also grabbing two corners and pulling them together. Then, the two pokémon began dragging their ends together. Nervous about what they were planning to do, Akira thrashed and writhed around.

The Espeon soon found herself being carried above the ground, the net stretched taunt between the Golduck and Granbull. They were carrying her in the direction that she had wanted to go, but Akira wasn't sure if she should judge this as good or bad. A cry of pain along with an enraged roar from up ahead reached her ears. A sick feeling entered into the Espeon, and she dreaded to see what lied ahead.

Suddenly, the long, meadow grass dispersed into a short grassed clearing. Akira's heart lurched as she saw a Venusaur's vines shoot out and wrap around Kuro. The Umbreon snarled defiantly and sank his fangs into the giant grass types vines. Dakoto jumped out and blasted the Venusaur's side with a Flamethrower. Immediately, a Mega Salamence bore down on the Flareon from above. Using Dragon Claw, it struck him down to the ground with a crash. Then, Akira noticed Giro's unconscious form being dragged away by a...human.

She continued to watch in horror as the limp Vaporeon was roughly drug into the dark interior of a big, gray moving van. With a jolt, she realized that was exactly where the Golduck and Granbull were taking her. As they got closer and closer, Akira desperately wracked her brain for anything to get out of this mess. An idea suddenly popped into her brain, and the Espeon cursed herself for not thinking of it earlier.

Just when they were right in front of the van's back end, Akira's eyes glowed light blue. Focusing her thoughts, she used Psychic and the net became outlined in the same light blue color and unraveled. Then, the Espeon immediately dropped to the ground. The Golduck and Granbull stared at her with shocked expressions. Still using Psychic, she yanked the net from their dumbfounded grasp and cast it down on the surprised Golduck. He fell down to the ground with a surprised quack. Akira turned to face the Granbull, but it jumped back with a frightened yelp and dashed away.

Akira eyed him coldly, and then gave a satisfied nod. Suddenly, something clicked around her neck. Surprised, she looked down to see that she was wearing a strange, bulky, gray collar. 'What is this thing?'

"Well, now! We can't have any of that!" a rough voice laughed behind her. She turned to see the same human from before standing just inside the van's interior. He looked burly and well muscled, with a thick brown beard and a gray ski hat.

Hot anger surged through Akira. 'So you're the one behind all this! I'm going to make you so sorry that you'll regret ever setting foot here!' Akira's eyes glowed light blue once more as she prepared to hurl him as far as she possibly could. But no familiar, blue light engulfed the man. Akira blinked in surprise. She looked down at the collar around her neck, and noticed that it was glowing dark blue.

Akira was so intrigued that she didn't notice the big hand snaking toward her. Suddenly, the Espeon was roughly yanked back by her scruff and hurled into darkness. She tumbled against a wall and fell to the ground. Akira quickly jumped to her feet, and watched an iron-barred door slam shut. She wildly looked around, and found herself locked in a metal cage. Giro was unconsciously lying in another cage right beside her. "Akira? Is that you?" a young voice asked.

Akira turned to see an Eevee peering at her a few cages away. "Bracken? What? How did you-" Akira stammered.

"He was with me," Jade sadly sighed from behind him. "I just didn't see them until it was too late."

"They got me, too," Sierra called out from the cage closest to the van's side.

Suddenly, the man entered inside of the van yanking a resisting Dakoto behind him. The Flareon had a muzzle strapped around his face, and was being pulled with a stout rope. The man grasped the fire type's thick, yellow neck-fur and roughly shoved him into the cage next to Giro. The Flareon's closed mouth muffled his angry growls, and he began butting against the iron bars with his head.

The man clumped out of the van, but returned soon after carrying a large, black, moving bag. Savage growling resonated inside it, and the bag's occupant started ripping the thick fabric into shreds. Hastily, the bag was slung into the cage next to Akira, just moments before Kuro tore himself out of it. The Umbreon's eyes glittered with defiance and rage as he slammed himself against the bars with a snarl.

The thickset man laughed, "Plenty of fight in this one! I'll make a killing off the thing!" The burly finally exited into the outside, slamming the van's door shut. The back of the van instantly darkened, the only light came from a small window on both sides of the van's walls.

The hot scent of blood reached Akira's nose, and although she couldn't see enough to tell by sight, she knew Kuro was bleeding. Suddenly, the Umbreon collapsed to the ground. "I...have failed you all," he defeatedly sighed.

Several protests called out to disagree with the discouraged leader, while Akira inwardly cursed herself for be such a fool. 'I'm such an idiot! Why didn't I say anything while I had the chance? How could I have been so stupid? It should have been different...but I...I didn't do anything. I could have...no, should have stopped this.' "I'm sorry," the Espeon rasped, "this is all my fault."


End file.
